


La Vie de la Joie

by Anvildude



Category: Miraculous Ladybug
Genre: Does anybody get spoilered from these tags, Happy Ending, Things are gonna get Spooky
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-11-01
Updated: 2017-11-01
Packaged: 2019-01-28 02:17:28
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 11
Words: 37,786
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12595916
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Anvildude/pseuds/Anvildude
Summary: Le Papillon has been terrorizing Paris for over a year, now, his plans foiled at every step by Ladybug and Chat Noir.  But when a set of unfortunate circumstances lands Papillon's identity in Ladybug's hands, the villain may find his goals closer than he thought.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Boy oh boy, but this has been a journey. Would you believe that this is the first fanfiction that I've ever completed? (Well, aside from a single one-shot I wrote years and years ago). But I was just so inspired by the Miraculous Ladybug fan community, and the show itself. This story basically leapt, wholly formed, from my forehead last October. A little bit of folklore research, some outlining, and a whole lot of writing later, and here it is.
> 
> You'll notice that the entire story has just... sprung up, with no wait between chapters- this is because I very much dislike unfinished works, and so (prior personal works from decades ago notwithstanding) I've decided that I'm not going to release any fics of my own until I have completed them- so though the wait will be long and unsure between stories from me, you'll never have to worry about an abandoned or 'dead' fic from this end.
> 
> I used this story, in a way, as practice for writing. Fanfiction, in that way, offers a lot for the budding writer- the chance to practice character interactions and plot development and theme creation without having to worry about constructing an entirely new world- and also a dedicated fanbase to provide feedback and constructive criticism. So feel free to tell me what I did wrong, what you did or didn't enjoy, or just point out grammatical mistakes I may have made.
> 
> Special thanks to AO3 user Grimmalkerie for encouraging me to write. This fic's dedicated to you.

It all started with an Akuma, and Gabriel Agreste noticing his son's ring on Chat Noir's hand.

 

The week had started like any other. His assistant Nathalie had let his son in to see him. Adrien had a permission slip that needed a parent's signature- the Louvre, a class day trip. The boy didn't really _need_ to go on the trip. Gabriel had made sure the tutors he hired comprehensively covered all of the cultural offerings of Paris. But Adrien wheedled and begged, claiming it was part of 'The public school experience' and that his friends were all going. There hadn't been any real harm in signing the paper.

 

Now, though, it was the day of the class trip, and like most days, Gabriel was in his office. His appointments had been fulfilled. He had finished his daily quota of sketches, reviewed all of the new designs, and signed off on the needed paperwork to keep his company running smoothly. He dismissed Nathalie on her lunch break, and once she left the house, made his way up to the third floor of Agreste Mansion. It was here, in a room no other living human knew about, before an enormous irised window, that he indulged in his... hobby. Because there was something about Gabriel Agreste that nobody knew yet. He had a secret.

 

"Nooroo, Wings Rise!"

 

In a flash of pink light, Gabriel Agreste, stern-minded mogul of a fashion empire, was transformed by ancient magicks into Le Papillon, Terror of Paris and supervillain extraordinaire! Pulling out a jewel-headed cane from his butterfly-shaped brooch, Le Papillon leaned on the conjured stick while casting his awareness out into the streets of his city.

 

Most days his drifting awareness didn't find anyone worthy of his time. Le Papillon had a very specific mix of negative emotions that he used to create his Akumas. Just any little hurt or fear wouldn't cut it, but conversely, he passed over anyone whose woes left them unstable, or which would create a monster too powerful to control. True, there had been some miscalculations in the past, but these days the silver-masked figure was more discerning...

 

"Ah. There we are." Le Papillon smiled cruelly, pulling his senses back into the room. He had found someone with the perfect mix of emotions- not malicious, but stymied in their job. Just the sort of person he liked to prey on.

 

A kaleidescope of pure white butterflies burst from his cane's jeweled head, swarming around him. He brought his cane up and deposited it back into his brooch. With a thought, one of the butterflies flew down into his cupped hands, where he focused. Energy flowed into the insect, turning it from pure white to a bruised black and purple. Le Papillon released it, and it fluttered away, phasing through the window as though the glass didn't exist.

 

"Fly away, my little Akuma, and Evilize him!"

 

As the Akuma fluttered on its way, Le Papillon began to worry a little. He hadn't really payed too much attention to exactly _where_ he had found his victim, but as the Akuma passed through a courtyard towards a glass pyramid, he realized he had just unleashed an Akuma on the Louvre- where his son was on his school trip.

 

Well, it wasn't the first time he'd set one of his created villains loose near his son. He'd just have to keep a close eye on things. Now though, it was showtime.

 

There he was- a conservator-restorer who had been denied the funds to properly clean a new set of acquisitions due to political maneuvering. He was sitting in his office, playing with one of the tiny brushes he used in his work when the Akuma fluttered in and alighted on the tool. That was the spark that forged the connection between Le Papillon and his target. He dove into the conservator's mind and emotions, pulling on the breezes of thought to find the persuasive words that would fully bring him under control.

 

"Scourer, you deserved that grant. But the filth of lies and back room dealings has denied you your opportunity. Bring me the Miraculous of Ladybug and Chat Noir, and I will give you the power to clean up the crusted grime of academic stagnation." Le Papillon's words echoed in the young man's head, a purple butterfly outline appearing around his eyes.

 

The conservator-restorer smirked. "I'll do it, Papillon." And with that, the deal was struck. A rush of energy washed over his form and The Scourer stood, possessed cleaning brush mounted on his forehead, and one the size of a quarterstaff held in one hand. "Yes, The Scourer will brush away the lies of this rotting institution!"

 

Le Papillon allowed himself a smile.

 


	2. Chapter 2

Though Adrien had been to the Louvre plenty of times before, none had been as _fun_ as this one. The teen model had expected a stodgy old professor. Instead, his class got a lively, excited intern. He'd expected the group to be kept in silence, the guide insisting everyone be quiet. Instead, right from the start, their guide had started up a conversation, encouraging them all to ask questions. And he'd thought their class would be herded through all the most famous galleries like sheep. But instead, they'd been given an itinerary and told that they were free to wander on their own, as long as they met up for lunch.

 

So he, his best friend Nino, Nino's girlfriend Alya (maybe girlfriend- it wasn't exactly clear if the two were actually dating) and Alya's best friend Marinette had split off from the group to take in some of the more out-of-the-way galleries and halls. It was a blast.

 

"Is it just me, or does that mask look like Chat Noir?" the blonde asked, peering at the offending artifact. The four of them had made their way to the Denon wing of the museum. The ancient American and African objects held much more interest to the Parisian teens than- ugh- _more_ masterpiece Renaissance marble sculptures.

 

Ayla stepped over, looking at the mask. "Nah," she said, "I think it looks more like Volpina." She pointed at the plaque on the wall next to the display case. "It says it's a "Coyote" mask, from North America."

 

"Do you think the Americas have Miraculous wielders too?" Marinette asked from her place on a bench.

 

Nino's face broke into a wide grin. "Oh man, that would be so cool! What if their comic books are actually, like, true!" He waved his arms like he was fighting off bad guys. "And the government is just using all those movies and comics for coverup!"

 

"You're a doof, Nino," Adrien said. He made his way back to his friend, and flicked the brim of Nino's red ballcap, for emphasis of his friend's doofness.

 

Ayla agreed. "I'm with Adrien. _As_ the foremost expert on all things related to real-life Superheroes..." She ignored the chorus of cheerful 'boos' coming from her friends. "I've never come across anything in overseas news broadcasts or other documentation that would suggest any active superheroes there. Even the crazy conspiracy websites don't say anything about Miraculouses or real life superheroes." The redhead frowned. "Actually, I'm not sure they even know about _our_ Miraculous heroes. I haven't seen _any_ legitimate websites from outside France covering Ladybug or Chat Noir, or the Akuma attacks."

 

The friends' discussion of events was interrupted, then, by a sudden scream.

 

"Well, talk about a wolf," Nino said. His eyes went wide as Ayla rushed past him. He unsuccessfully tried to grab her. "Hey, where are you going!?"

 

"Akuma!" was all she yelled, running towards the sounds as she pulled out her cell phone.

 

The teen shook his head, turning back to his other friends. "I swear she's crazy. At least you guys know better than to... Guys?" When he'd turned, he'd found Marinette and Adrien had run off too. "Guys? Oh, come on!" he said, stomping in frustration.

 

 

Apparently "Wiping away lies" looked a lot like magically cleaning priceless paintings. At least, that's what Le Papillon determined after five minutes of watching his newest minion stalk the galleries of the museum. The villain wasn't too concerned, though. As long as his Akuma stirred up enough trouble that Ladybug and Chat Noir showed up, it couldn't matter less how they decided to do it. True, this laid back attitude had led to a few... awkward moments, but Le Papillon was a firm believer that if you chose someone to complete a task, it was best to leave them to it.

 

He would _watch_ how it was done, however. Very closely. Even if it weren't for his son's proximity (though it seemed the worse Adrien had to fear was an unscheduled exfoliation), damage to the artifacts in the Louvre would be unacceptable. Though Ladybug's Miraculous Cure spell normally fixed any damage done during their battles, if The Scourer managed to seize her Miraculous Stone, that wouldn't take place. And that... Wait. Something was happening. Le Papillon leaned forwards unconsciously in his lair, looking through The Scourer's eyes.

 

 

"What in the world is going on here!?" While most of the museum patrons were fleeing away from the 'rampaging monster', there was one man- old, tweed-clad and moustachio'd, who was elbowing his way towards the Akuma.

 

"Beauchene, what are you doing?" the man demanded. His sense of self-preservation wasn't totally missing, and he stopped a good distance away.

 

The Scourer looked up from the painting he was working on. "Ah, there you are Monsieur Tasse." He swiped his brush across the art, and it suddenly gleamed like new- all the grime of 4 centuries of display wiped away. "I am glad it is you here. I wanted to show you what is possible when politics and "budgetary concerns" don't get in the way."

 

"You've seen the numbers the same as the rest of us. There's just not enough money to go around, and your department is low prior-" M Tasse was cut off by the handle of a brush suddenly pressed against his throat. The Scourer was faster than he looked.

 

"Yes, I've seen the numbers. And that is exactly why-"

 

"Why you'll put that gentleman down and surrender, Akuma?" A red and black spotted yo-yo wrapped around the brush handle, yanking it away from M Tasse's neck.

 

"Ladybug!"

 

Indeed it was. Standing there in the hall, hands on the string of her yo-yo and blue eyes narrowed with determination. Her black-spotted bodysuit shone bright, jubilant red in the clear lights of the gallery. Ladybug, heroine of Paris!

 

Le Papillon clenched his hands, teeth grit in a feral smile as he looked through his minion's eyes. "Perfect."

 

"Ah, Ladybug. I'm glad you could be here to see this," The Scourer said. "You can bear witness to the truth of this sniveling worm... before I take your Miraculous, of course."

 

"I don't think an over-sized paintbrush is going to help you much here, Akuma."

 

While the hero and villain were bantering, M Tasse was slowly edging away from the Akuma.

 

"My _name_ is The Scourer, and I will brush away the lies and expose the secrets of anyone who gets in my way!" With that, The Scourer spun his brush, wiping the bristles up M Tasse's body and throwing him back.

 

The man yelled as he was tossed into the velvet ropes lining the gallery, but appeared mostly unharmed. The brush, however, had left its mark. Wherever it had touched, his clothes had disintegrated, and the word "Embezzeler" was emblazoned on his skin in raw, angry patches.

 

Ladybug saw this, and gulped. She looked back to The Scourer, who leered at her.

 

"Do you see now, Ladybug? The truth of the matter?" The akuma lunged at her with his brush, and she was forced to dodge backwards. "I will expose the truth, whatever it may be hidden behind!"

 

"It's not very polite to 'expose' a lady in public, Scourer." Following the wordplay, a black-suited catboy wandered in from a side hall.

 

Ladybug cringed. "Really Chat, you had to go with that one?" Her partner just grinned a cheshire grin, green eyes almost lost in his black domino mask.

 

"What can I say, Paw-tner. You make this chat yowl."

 

"Chat Noir, you're impossible!"

 

This banter was the norm for the two teen heroes. It might seem to the casual observer (or terrified Louvre board member) that the pair were dropping their guard around a potentially dangerous opponent, but that was just how the both of them acted during akuma attacks. They'd been fighting Le Papillon long enough that random supervillain attacks were just a part of their daily experience. That's not to say that they weren't paying attention- just that they didn't... worry about it.

 

An akuma that could reveal their secret identities, though dangerous, was nothing particularly new. They just needed to dodge, was all. Or finish the fight quickly.

 

In his lair, Le Papillon had the opposite reaction. He was happy to learn that The Scourer could wipe away Ladybug and Chat Noir's masks. In his opinion, the fight couldn't go on long enough.

 

"Scourer, I am willing to modify the deal. You don't have to get me the Miraculouses, as long as you reveal the secret identities of Chat Noir and Ladybug!"

 

The butterfly sigil flashed on The Scourer's face. "You have a deal."

 

Ladybug looked to her partner. "Think you can distract him while I look for the item?"

 

"Thought you'd never ask!" Chat Noir launched himself at the akuma, claws flashing.

 

"I will wipe those masks right off your faces!" The Scourer yelled, parrying with his brush.

 

While the two of them fought, Ladybug focused on figuring out what the possessed item was on the akuma. Victims almost always kept their cursed item out in the open- she didn't know why. Maybe it was personal preference, maybe it was required for Papillon to control them properly. Or maybe, she liked to think, they were passively fighting back against Papillon's control, and trying to make it easier for the Miraculous duo to defeat them.

 

Not that the akuma fought any less fiercely. A swipe of the brush left Chat Noir's left knee raw and bare, and forced him to jump back from his opponent.

 

"I guess I might as well take this opportunity to brush up on my own canne de combat," Chat said, pulling out his weapon. The silver baton extended in his hands to a three-foot staff, which he used to parry the next swipe of the brush.

 

 

Ladybug was getting frustrated. Sometimes figuring out the cursed item was simple, sometimes it was hard. This was proving to be the latter.

 

"Monsieur," she asked M Tasse, "You know the victim. Do you see anything on him that he's usually carrying? What might be possessed?"

 

M Tasse was still shaken from his ordeal, and the welts on his skin were quite painful, but he tried to help Ladybug. The sooner this was over, the sooner everything would be back to normal.

 

"I'm not entirely sure what it is. He's a restorer-conservator, so the brush theme makes sense, but I don't know him personally, not all that well."

 

"Thank you, Monsieur. Every bit helps." She hauled him to his feet. "Now you should find somewhere safe to wait this out."

 

"Yes, of course. Thank you, Ladybug." With that, he took off, ducking around a corner.

 

The red-clad heroine turned back to the fight. Aside from the large brush he was using to fight, the Scourer only had one other brush on his costume- the one sitting vertically on his forehead, like a samurai's crest. Looking harder, she noticed that the brush seemed to have some worn spots. That was probably the possessed item, then.

 

 

Le Papillon was unamused. He'd had such high hopes for The Scourer, but here his akuma was, being held off by Chat Noir alone. He sighed.

 

"I suppose one can't expect an academic to be proficient in combat," the villain winced as The Scourer stumbled back after a particularly close swipe, "but this is still disappointing."

 

 

Back in the museum, Ladybug had joined in the fight against their brush wielding foe. She was sticking to long-range combat, using her yo-yo to knock around the brush and strike at the akuma from odd angles, while Chat held his attention. In the little moments when the two heroes came together, she managed to convey what she'd learned.

 

"I think the akuma is in that brush on his forehead," she said, ducking a brass stanchion. She winced when it crashed into a painting behind them. The Scourer howled in anger, as though she was personally at fault for destroying the art. He started angrily scouring the grime off of more nearby paintings.

 

Taking the reprieve for what it was, Ladybug and Chat Noir relaxed a little.

 

"The brush on his forehead? Well that's not going to be easy to get to," Chat said. "That brush-staff of his is faster than it looks, and I think baring my knee is a close enough brush with indecency today."

 

Ladybug stuck her tongue out at the pun. "I'll see if Lucky Charm can help slow him down. Think you can handle things from there?"

 

"My lady, you wound me." He flared his claws. "Of course I can handle it."

 

Their reprieve was over. The Scourer turned back to the heroes, glaring. Ladybug and Chat Noir looked at each other, and nodded.

 

"Lucky Charm!" Ladybug shouted, throwing her yo-yo into the air as Chat rushed the akuma. A black-spotted electric steam iron dropped into her hands. She looked at it in disbelief, then looked around. Though the items her Lucky Charm spell summoned could be strange, they were always useful. She looked at The Scourer's feet, and noticed how much he shuffled them around while fighting. That gave her an idea.

 

Taking the iron by the end of its cord, she whirled the appliance like a bolas, and flung. The item flew at the akuma, cord whipping around his ankles and binding them together. The akuma didn't trip thanks to his supernaturally granted agility, but he did have to plant himself in one place. And that pause gave Chat Noir his opening. The dark hero pulled back his hand.

 

"CATACLYSM!" he yelled. Swirls of black energy gathered in his palm, coalescing into a pitch-black orb that he grasped, absorbing the entropic magic into his hand. He thrust forward, aiming his ultimate spell at The Scourer's brush-staff. The Scourer swung desperately, intercepting the hero's hand with the head of his brush. It seemed like a desperation move on the part of the akuma, but it took a moment for the destructive energies of Cataclysm to take hold- long enough for the enchanted bristles to destroy the clawed glove covering Chat Noir's hand, leaving only raw red skin and the black Miraculous stone set in its ring. Still, the Papillon-granted weapon was no match for concentrated Destruction, and the brush-staff disintegrated. Bristles rotted and fell off, the metal ferrule corroded into nothing, and the wooden handle dried and split before breaking apart.

 

"NO! No no no no no!" the akuma screeched at them, lunging towards Chat's bare hand, but he tripped over the cord still wrapped around his ankles. Ladybug sashayed up to the prone man and plucked the possessed brush from his forehead. With a sharp snap, she broke it, releasing the corrupted butterfly.

 

"No more evildoing for you, akuma! It's time to DE-EVILIZE!" the heroine shouted. Her yo-yo was quick, and grabbed the enchanted insect before it could escape and infect anyone else. "Bye bye little butterfly," she said, waving as pure white wings, now cleansed of any taint, flew away. Ladybug reclaimed the steam-iron from around the victim's legs. Tossing it up, she intoned, "Miraculous Ladybug!" A wave of mystical ladybugs swarmed the museum, repairing all the damage the fight had caused.

 

Louvre guards swarmed in, double-checking all the art. Members of the Akuma Response Unit came and collected the victim. Ladybug watched all this with a little smile, content in a job well done. Chat stood next to her, rubbing his hand. Then Ladybug's earrings beeped.

 

"Uh oh, I'd better get going," the heroine said with a start. She turned to her partner. "Will you be alright, Chat? There wasn't anything revealed that could be used to trace your identity, was there?

 

"Don't worry about it. I've shown more skin to more people before. Unless you'd like even more of my suit to come off?" He wiggled his eyebrows at her. She just rolled her eyes and took off running before her transformation wore off.

 

"Hey, don't just _brush_ me off like that!" Chat yelled after her. He grinned, expression dopey on his face. Then his own Miraculous beeped, reminding him he needed to find his own private location to de-transform. He took off in the opposite direction.

 


	3. Chapter 3

Le Papillon frowned as he dropped his transformation, Nooroo flopping tiredly onto the floor. When he'd been looking through The Scourer's eyes, in those last moments when he could see the bare hand of Chat Noir, the hand with the hero's Miraculous stone in its ring... He'd seen that ring before. Leaving his attic room, Gabriel made his way downstairs. He found the door to his office, and went in.

 

The miraculous stone was green and black instead of plain silver, but the shape of it. The villain had been so distracted that he hadn't even tried to pull the butterfly back from the akuma. The designer rubbed his brow with a slender finger, thinking. Because his first feelings on this couldn't be right. They couldn't be right, because his instincts were screaming that he had seen his son's ring on Chat Noir's finger. Distractedly, he pulled some refreshments from the mini-fridge in the corner of the room.

 

He'd always known what the Miraculous stones looked like, of course. Research, and getting his kwami to draw what he knew had allowed Le Papillon to show all of Paris the Miraculouses, on the day he'd started his villainous campaign. But this time, perhaps because he was seeing it on a bare finger, or perhaps because he was looking through the eyes of an akuma obsessed with truth, he'd been able to make the connection. There was still a persistent doubt in the back of his mind, but when the designer put it to logic and memory, too many occurrences began to line up. The absences, the late nights, the sudden up-tick in Adrien's cheese consumption... and Adrien had started wearing his ring around the same time Chat Noir became active.

 

Adrien's ring... Appearing on Adrien's finger the first day the boy attended public school, Gabriel had assumed it to be a token from an admirer. That belief had only been strengthened by his son's refusal to take it off for any reason, even during his photoshoots. The simple silver band, with the indented circle, had seemed to be just that. But now... There was one person who would know for sure, though. Gabriel turned to the kwami now sitting on his desk, drinking a thimbleful of juice.

 

"Nooroo, do you know anything about Adrien's ring? Could it be the Miraculous?"

 

“I don't know what you expect me to tell you about it, Gabe,” the butterfly kwami said. “I haven't been privy to any of the Miraculous comings or goings for decades”

 

“All I want to know is whether or not my son has the Black Cat Miraculous Stone.” Gabriel was pacing, back and forth. His office, by all accounts spacious and airy, felt stifling. “Where did he get it? Does he know something about Chat Noir?” Gabriel stopped, suddenly. He turned to his kwami. “Should I tell him who I am, Nooroo?”

 

The small god smiled sadly at his host. Maybe, finally, his human was seeing some sense.

 

Then Gabriel dashed that hope. With a shake of his head, his features resumed their usual flinty demeanor. Nooroo sighed and rolled his eyes. ”You know what, if you're going to be such a child about this, I'm just going to go to sleep. Wake me up when you next wish to terrorize Paris, Gabe.”

 

Cornering a Miraculous user (if, indeed, his son could lead him to Chat Noir,) would be no easy feat, and Gabriel knew this. He had firsthand experience, both as a Miraculous user himself, and as a hunter of the kwami-bound stones. If he was being honest with himself, spying on his son was a ridiculous long shot, and most likely wouldn't come to anything. But a chance was a chance, and Gabriel was willing to do anything to get what he wanted. Besides, he was Adrien's father. He had a right to know what his son was up to. He was just a parent who happened to be able to afford a million-Euro security system with hidden cameras in his son's room. He sat down at his workstation.

 

No recordings, of course. Pure Closed Circuit real-time camera and monitor systems, so he could check in on Adrien from his office. It made much more sense than what his own parents had done, always just barging in to his room whenever they wanted, disturbing his work. This way, Gabriel didn't have to bother his son at all.

 

Nooroo disagreed, as he always did. In fact, this distance from his son was the subject the two most commonly argued on.

 

"Just talk to him!" the kwami would say. "He's your son. He needs evidence that you care about what he's doing."

 

Gabriel would deny it, naturally. "He is a teenage boy. Having his father butt in is the last thing he wants. I know. I was one myself."

 

"It's not about what he thinks he wants, it's about what he _actually_ wants," Nooroo said. The butterfly was having none of his 'master's' recalcitrance. "Attention. Confirmation that the person he's growing into is someone that you'll be proud of."

 

"That makes no sense, Nooroo. I wouldn't expect an immortal non-human to understand. I know my own son. He's an intelligent boy. He knows I'm proud of him." And that would be the end of the conversation.

 

Back in the present, Gabriel called up his son's room on the system. The camera, unfortunately, didn't cover the whole of the two-story room. It was situated on the bottom of the balcony, and only covered enough of the room to see all the entrances and exits- the door and the windows. Some privacy was still due the boy, of course. It was easy enough to find him, though.

 

There he was, sitting at his computer. Doing absolutely nothing productive. Gabriel scoffed lightly. That boy was the laziest child he'd ever known. At his age, Gabriel would have been practicing his fencing, or studying, or, his favorite pastime, designing outfits. But that was no matter, here. What mattered was watching to see if there was anything linking his son to Chat Noir. It was a light suspicion, but Gabriel was getting desperate at this point. Nothing any of his Akuma had done had worked.

 

...Wait. Akuma. Gabriel stared straight ahead, silently berating himself. The 'heroes' were almost never active if there was no Akuma for them to battle. Perhaps...

 

Monsieur Agreste stood. “Nooroo, wake up. I have need of your power.”

 

The fairy floated up to him. “Yes, Master Gabe?”

 

“We are creating an Akuma. Wings Rise!” Pink spiraled into Gabriel's brooch, and with an explosion of butterflies, Le Papillon appeared once again. This night, he would not go to his sanctuary to find his champion- that would defeat the purpose of watching his son's reaction. Instead, Le Papillon strode to the office door, making sure it was locked, then sat himself back down behind his desk. He closed his eyes, sending his mental sense out.

 

There. A man, good natured, usually, but overworked. And with some lingering resentment that was just begging to be 'worked out'. Opening his eyes, Le Papillon called one of his butterflies and charged it with dark energy.

 

"Go, fly my little Akuma, and Evilize him!"

 

He watched the insect phase through the wall, and kept track of its progress as it approached the target. Just what sort of Akuma would he create this time?

 

Le Papillon cringed a little when he saw the building his akuma was approaching.

 

"Well," he said to himself, "Even if I don't catch my son in the act, I may be able to _smell_ him."

 

* * *

 

 

“I AM SINKHOLE! I will drain this river and bring all of Paris to the ground!”

 

A disgruntled sewer worker made for a surprisingly dangerous Akuma. Adrien was glad he'd been browsing the Ladyblog that evening. It meant he'd had plenty of warning before the first tremors had hit, swallowing an entire apartment complex by the banks of the Seine. Ladybug had apparently been following the blog as well, since she'd already evacuated the building and started after the Akuma by the time Chat arrived on scene.

 

Currently, the villain du jour was monologuing, giving Chat and his lady a chance to catch up before going in again.

 

“So, what do you think the item is?” Ladybug asked, landing next to him on a roof.

 

“Business right away, my Lady? Why can't we ever just meet up for a long, moonlit walk on the Seine when there _isn't_ an Akuma attack?” He waggled his eyebrows at her, which elicited an eyeroll in return.

 

“I'm just saying, candlelit dinner, romantic walk... And all without an Akuma breathing down our necks. I'm up for it if you are.” It was minutes later, they'd been fighting Sinkhole up and down the Seine, and both of them had just narrowly avoided being dunked in raw sewage. Ladybug didn't think it was exactly the time for flirting.

 

“Chat, if the next words out of your mouth aren't about the Akuma, I'm going to go home without using my Miraculous Cure, and _you'll_ have to clean up the mess by hand.”

 

This stopped him in his tracks. Sinkhole, who'd been expecting him to keep running, found the crevasse he made had missed its target. The Akuma stomped the ground in frustration, stumbling on a piece of loose pavement.

 

“Meowch, Ladybug! I was just wondering.” He leapt onto a lamppost, then flung himself at the Akuma, bringing his staff down hard. Sinkhole reacted by opening up a void beneath his own feet, dropping ten feet underground and tunneling away. Chat stood, putting his fingers to his chin. “Though that _would_ give me the chance to see just what the limits of my Cataclysm are... Say, Ladybug, figure I could destroy the concept of 'Akuma Damage'? Oooh, maybe I could destroy the past thirty minutes and stop Stinkhole from being Akumatized in the first place!”

 

Ladybug shot him an angry, and mildly panicked, look as she swung by, chasing after the cracks in the street. “Don't you dare! I don't want to have to see if my Cure can fix a _concept_!”

 

“But it would be an experiment!” Batons swatted debris out of the air as Sinkhole burst out of the ground again.

 

“No destroying fundamental forces of the universe for science, Chat!” Her spinning yo-yo had protected her from the cobblestones, and she was close enough to the Akuma to see that his hard-hat was suspiciously worn and frayed. “Now come on! I think I know what the item is!”

 

* * *

 

Gabriel sat back in his chair. The transformation had worn off naturally, without him saying the de-powering phrase.

 

“Well that was... enlightening,” he said, steepling his fingers in front of him.

 

“I don't know what you expected, Gabe,” Nooroo said, polishing off a thimble of grape juice.

 

“Yes, Nooroo, thank you for your input.”

 

“ I mean, he's used to your stifling over-protectiveness by now. It's not surprising that he knows how to sneak out without you noticing.”

 

“YES Nooroo, THANK you.”

 

“You know, Gabe, maybe if you actually went to talk to him in person once in a while, you'd have noticed this before.”

 

“Nooroo...”

 

Minutes after his Akuma had been activated, watching the screen intently revealed... absolutely no activity from his son. It wasn't until the middle of the ongoing battle on the Seine that he noticed the slight jump in the video. A particularly heavy quake about a minute later knocked the tablet off of its stand, revealing the empty room beyond. And about three minutes after the fight was over, Gabriel watched his son sneak back into his room through an unlatched window, panic mildly when he noticed the fallen tablet, check his door, wipe his brow, and head into his bathroom, all while apparently talking to himself.

 

Suspicion turned to certainty. His son was Chat Noir. And yet, the thought was slippery. His mind kept trying to make excuses for his son's behavior. He was a teenager, teens snuck out. The timing wasn't so bizarre- Adrien followed that blasted Ladyblog, of course he'd want to see what was happening.

 

Those thoughts battered his realization, trying to get him to ignore the evidence in front of him. He suspected kwami magic. There was one way to find out.

 

“Nooroo. Does your transformation include a glamour?” Blue eyes pierced the kwami's. Nooroo hemmed and hawed, glowering back at his master.

 

“I will order you, Nooroo.”

 

“Fine!” The kwami shot one last glare at the man. “Yes, Miraculous Transformations include a powerful spell to mask the identity of the bearer. It's almost impossible to break the effects until you personally witness the transformation.” The tiny being flew up and sat on Gabriel's head, nestling down into the perfectly coiffed hair and mussing it. It infuriated Gabriel, which was why Nooroo tried to do it as often as possible.

 

“Then I will have to be certain. Hide yourself, Nooroo," the designer said, eyes crossing as he tried to look at the kwami on his head. "I need to talk to my son.”

 

* * *

 

Well, Sinkhole had been a decidedly unpleasant akuma, Adrien thought to himself. He was glad his armour as Chat Noir didn't hold on to stink, and that the de-transformation destroyed all the filth that had accumulated in his hair during the fight. The teen flopped face first down on his bed, while Plagg curled up on his pillow. The blonde was tired enough that he seriously considered just crawling under the sheets without changing into his pajamas first. Then there was a knock on the bedroom door.

 

Adrien's head shot up as Plagg shot beneath the pillow.

 

“Yes?” he called. To his eternal surprise, when the door opened, instead of Nathalie, as usual, or even the Gorilla (though it was rare for his driver-slash-bodyguard to meet him inside), it was Gabriel in the hall.

 

“Father!” Adrien shot to his feet. “W-what are you doing here?” Gabriel cocked an eyebrow at his son.

 

“It's my house, isn't it? Why shouldn't I be allowed to check in on all the rooms? Especially since I noticed an error with the alarm on one of your windows.” A blatant lie. The elder Agreste had noticed no such thing, but he figured there was probably a reason his son was able to sneak out without triggering the alert. And it seemed his ploy struck home. Adrien visibly blanched, and moved defensively in front of the far left window.

 

“Error? What error? There's no error here!”

 

“Adrien, stand aside.” Dutifully, the boy complied. Gabriel was heartened to see him calm his face, quiet his emotions. A man was nothing if he let emotion rule him, the designer believed. A philosophy that made it all the more perplexing that the Kwami of Passion was so compatible with him. He reached the window. A finger ran along the sash until it came to the latch, and the built-in sensor. Nothing seemed wrong on the outside, but looks could be deceiving. Gabriel grasped the bit of metal and twisted.

 

Paint flaked and circuitry crumbled as the sensor came away in his fingers, much too easily. The inside looked like it had been sitting there for centuries, corroded away in place without affecting the outside covering of paint. Precise corrosion, something that could only be the result of kwami magic. Just to be sure (thoroughness may not have been a virtue, but it was close), Gabriel went to the next window and tried the same thing on the sensor there. It didn't move at all, a solid as the day it had been installed. Gabriel turned to his son. His face, normally a mask of indifference, now bent with incredulous remorse.

 

“My own son...”

 

Silent for the past moments, Adrien spoke up- too quickly, too smoothly for it to be anything but a practiced lie.

 

“Father, I'm sorry, I should have told you. I... have a girlfriend, I've been sneaking out since I found out the sensor was faulty, I-” His father cut him off with a sharp gesture.

 

“You and I both know this isn't about a girl, Adrien. Or should I say, Chat Noir.”

 

Adrien tried to brush the claim off, but the shock had broken his attempt at a calm demeanor.

 

“Me? Chat Noir? That's.. heh, that's ridiculous- absurd, bizarre, unlikely. It's, it's-”

 

“True.”

 

Adrien looked scared. His hands were clenched tight to his sides, back ramrod straight, staring at his father. Gabriel looked back steadily, a little bit of worry creeping in. This wasn't how this was supposed to go. He was the boy's father. He should have been able to march into the room, tell Adrien to hand over the ring, and his son would do it, without question. He'd have half of the key to ultimate power, and without Chat Noir to back her up, Ladybug would quickly succumb to an Akuma, and he would finally be able to drop this ridiculous pretense and achieve his goals. The designer silently cursed whatever small gods were listening, that they'd turned his own son against him so.

 

“Give me your ring, Adrien.” His son pulled back, hiding his hands behind his back.

 

“Why? It's mine, it's just a ring.”

 

“I know it's how you transform. Now give it to me.” Gabriel stepped forwards, causing Adrien to retreat around his bed.

 

“Father- even... even if I were Chat Noir...” Adrien gulped, his mouth dry, “Why would you- why would you even care!” The dam broke. “You never care! I've been sneaking out for months, ever since I got the ring. You never knew! You never even talk to me, I need an _appointment_ to have a discussion with my own father! What would you care if I was Chat Noir! It's no business of yours. I haven't done anything to upset your precious photo shoots or disturb your business!” He kept backing away, his father advancing on him, face growing stormier by the sentence.

 

“You have been throwing yourself into danger for months! I am only doing what any self-respecting father would do. Now give me the Miraculous!” Adrien paused.

 

“How do you know what it's called?”

 

“I- Le Papillon created a 4 story head made of evil butterflies announcing to the whole of Paris what those stones are and what they can do. Even if he had left you alone, someone else would surely come looking for it. If you won't give it to me, I'll have to take it for your own good!” He lunged at his son, managing to gain hold of the boy's right arm- the one with the Miraculous. Adrien tried to pull away, but though he was stronger than the average teen due to fencing and illicit superheroing, his father was larger and stronger still. Fingers gripped the silver ring, but sweat and emotionality made Gabriel's grip loose, an his digits slipped off the smooth metal. He tried twisting, but that just bunched up the skin beneath. He couldn't. Get. A. Grip.

 

“Father, stop!” But Gabriel couldn't. It was right there, half the answer to his, to both their prayers, if only his son knew... “Dad! You're hurting me, let go!”

 

That finally broke the spell. Gabriel released his son's hand like it burned, only then realizing the desperate grimace his face had twisted into. His son backed away, frightened and overwhelmed. This was a side of his father he'd never seen before. Not even when his mother had died had Gabriel Agreste shown this much passion, at least not where someone else could see it. He'd always been... closed. Private. Now, he was panting, immaculate clothes disheveled, face flushed and hands sweaty. Adrien saw emotion in his fathers face for the first time in a year. Guilt, hurt, and a terrible look of isolation. But the teen vigilante was feeling his own cocktail of anger and vulnerability, and he couldn't find it within himself to care about this man who chose this, of all things, to finally be emotional about.

 

Being Chat Noir was the best part of his life. He would never give it up.

 

“Adrien. Son. Please, I need to... I need to know that you're safe.” His father held out his hand, pleading. “Give me the ring. Stay in, stay with me.”

 

“No.”

 

“No?” The devastation that little word wrought on Gabriel's countenance almost made Adrien change his mind. Almost.

 

“I'm going out. I might not be back by morning. Don't bother looking for me.”

 

“Claws out.”

 

With the flash of green and black energy, it felt like a curtain had been ripped down inside Gabriel's head. He'd been doing all this to his son on the strong suspicion that the boy might- _might_ be Chat Noir, but now he realized that what he'd had before had been just that- suspicion, and it had not been certainty at all. But now he could see. The shade of blonde hair, the shape of the jaw. The measurements of his son's body, which he had designed so many outfits for, suddenly wrapped in black kwami-stuff. And then Adrien- Chat Noir- was gone out the window, into the night.

 

A pink blur swooped its way onto Gabriel's head. “Now that's what I call some good parenting!”

 

“Shut up, Nooroo.”

 


	4. Chapter 4

As soon as Chat left his house, he pulled up the messaging function of his staff and texted Ladybug. Hopefully she was patrolling and would see it. For now, he slung his staff back into its place on his belt, and took off running. As long as he was transformed, he might as well patrol.

 


	5. Chapter 5

After a long day of school, there was nothing Marinette Dupain-Cheng liked more than falling back in her chair and just... existing for a bit. She liked her designing, and of course schoolwork and chores were important, but these chances to just let all the worries of the day slide off to the side for a while... they were keeping her sane. No school, no parents, no Ladybug. Fifteen minutes to just sort of meditate, then she'd start struggling with her physics homework.

 

Of course, peace could never last in her life. In this case, it was shattered by a tiny red fairy-god with a big black spot on her bulbous head.

 

“Marinette! You've got a message from Chat.” Tikki flew down from the loft space where she spent a lot of her time in Marinette's room, and alighted on her host's shoulder. The girl groaned. “Do you want to wait until tomorrow to look at it?” the kwami asked.

 

“No, that's alright, Tikki,” the teen said. She pushed herself back to her feet. “It might be important, after all.”

 

“If you're sure. It might just be Chat being chatty,” said the kwami.

 

Marinette giggled a little at the pun. “Okay then. Tikki, Spots On!” Red light flashed, and the hero Ladybug stood in her place. She pulled out her yo-yo and flipped the top open to reveal a little computer screen and delicate buttons. She pushed the button that brought up the messages page, and saw the one from Chat Noir.

 

_”Ladybug, something's happened. I need to talk to you as soon as possible. I'll be out patrolling tonight, but I'll check in on the Eiffel Tower on the half-hour.”_

 

Short, to the point, and completely devoid of any humour. That wasn't like Chat at all. Even without the actual message in the message, something was clearly wrong. Putting away her yo-yo, she climbed to her roof hatch and went out. Making sure the door was shut behind her, she pulled her yo-yo out again and threw it to the next roof. She took off to the Tower.

 

 

She found Chat Noir pacing on the uppermost platform, their usual meeting spot on the Tower. He hardly seemed to have noticed her swinging up, but as soon as she alighted on the metal surface, his pacing stopped and he turned to her with an intense look in his eyes.

 

“I think that Adrien Agreste might be being targeted by Papillon. I'm worried that his father may become Akumatized as well,” he said. Ladybug was taken aback. Like the message, this was a direct, businesslike Chat, completely unlike his usual carefree self. The female superhero wasn't sure she liked this side of him that much.

 

“What do you mean?" she asked. "Why would Monsieur Agreste have anything to do with Papillon?”

 

“My- Monsieur Agreste _might_ just know who I am. It was a little shocking to him, and I'm worried he may be the next target.”

 

“Know who you are? Chat, how did this happen? This is terrible!”

 

“I was a little indiscreet when transforming, but that's not the point here! My Lady, please. Just... keep an eye on Monsieur Agreste and his house for a while.”

 

“But what about you?”

 

“I wish I could stay, but I really have to go. Ladybug, please. I need you to trust me on this one, okay?” He looked away. “I need to know I can trust you with this.”

 

Ladybug walked up to him. “Okay. I'll stake out the mansion tonight.” She lay a comforting hand on his shoulder. “But I will have to leave in the morning.”

 

“Just watch him for the night. That's all I'm asking.” Chat pulled away. “Thank you, Ladybug. This means a lot to me.” He stepped to the edge of the platform before pausing. “I'll... I'll see you later, then. Yeah.” With that, he stepped off the edge. Ladybug moved forwards to watch him as he extended his baton and vaulted away. She shook her head to clear it, then leapt off herself. Her yo-yo flashed out, and she swung off in the direction of Agreste mansion.

 

* * *

 

Adrien assumed that his father was asleep by the time he got back home. The lights were off in the mansion, including his father's bedroom. It made sense. It was late, and he knew he'd be incredibly tired in the morning himself. School would be a hardship, and he'd probably drive his makeup artist mad at his photoshoot that afternoon, with the bags under his eyes. Surely his father was doing the smart thing and getting his sleep while he could.

 

Still, he leveraged all his stealthy skills to make his way back into his room, with catlike tread creeping through the window, silently dreading the hall light and thanking Plagg for the night vision his transformed state bestowed. He de-transformed. Sleeping in his clothes crossed his mind once again. His eyes traveled over the inviting rectangle of his bed, but the blonde pulled himself over to his dresser to change. Now pyjama-clad, the teen collapsed on the mattress next to Plagg, who had already curled himself up around a box of Camembert. Adrien managed a single muttered “Stinky cheese” before losing himself in exhausted slumber.

 

The next day passed as usual for the two teen heroes- In a haze of sleep deprivation. They both stumbled through classes without too much trouble. Adrien had already learned most of it from private tutors. He was in public school more to make friends than to learn anything. Marinette was okay because, well, this was how she usually felt at school anyways. She blamed whoever it was that decided classes should start at 9 AM.

 

Neither noticed the other's deprived state, but both took advantage of Lunch Break to take quick naps- Marinette at home, and Adrien in a corner of the school library, a perpetually amused Nino playing lookout for him. So it was that the teen model was able to complete his photoshoot without too much trouble, and how one black-spotted red Heroine had enough energy to spy on said photoshoot.

 

She told herself it wasn't spying, per se. Chat _had_ asked her to watch after Monsieur Agreste, after all, and the designer was here at his son's photoshoot. But that excuse wore thinner every time she let her eyes linger on Adrien instead of his father, until she decided to stop lying to herself and just enjoy her slightly stalker-ish view of the teen model.

 

The roof she was watching from was in the perfect location, with gables that let her lounge on her front, supporting her head with her arms as she watched the action below. She wasn't just watching her classmate, though. She was a designer-in-training, and getting to see the frantic behind-the-scenes activity of a professional at work was an invaluable learning experience. Which, of course, meant that she should probably watch the designer in charge, instead of ogling the model and the fashions.

 

Ladybug sighed. The life of a superhero was tough sometimes.

 

* * *

 

There was a disturbance at the shoot. One of the stylists started yelling and gesturing wildly, pointing at Adrien and the photographer before storming off. Ladybug had been active long enough that she could recognize the beginning of an Akuma attack when she saw it. This time, though, she had a good view of the entire area. Maybe if she could spot the Akuma coming in, she could catch and purify it before it infected the stylist.

 

She scanned the area, looking for the little black and purple insect, but what she noticed was Gabriel Agreste. He was acting suspicious. He walked rapidly to the other side of the park, and her instincts screamed at her to follow. Abandoning her post, Ladybug swung around to a closer vantage point. She managed to secret herself behind a chimney just in time to see Monsieur Agreste look around, before ducking behind a small outbuilding. He reached into his lapel, pulling something out and pinning it to his collar. It was too small for Ladybug to see clearly, but what happened next was unmistakable.

 

Gabriel pumped a fist in front of himself, and a tiny pink speck swirled into the object on his collar. Light, pink, but smeared with darkness like spilled ink, glowed around him. When it died down, he was transformed.

 

Ladybug had never seen a kwami transformation like this before, but she could guess who he was. The only unaccounted Miraculous stone was that of the butterfly. Papillon.

 

Gabriel Agreste was Papillon.

 

Adrien's father was Papillon.

 

Papillon might know who Chat Noir was.

 

This was terrible.

 

* * *

 

All through the fight with the stylist Akuma- who insisted on being called The Stitcher- Ladybug just couldn't concentrate. She was lucky that Chat had shown up so soon. He had already intercepted 2 attacks by swarms of flying needles. Frustrated, Ladybug called out her Lucky Charm, probably earlier than she should have- but the ladybug themed pin sharpener she got was able to knock The Stitcher's sewing case out of her hands, letting Chat destroy it, and getting the photoshoot back on track.

 

She considered confronting M Agreste about his alter identity, but...

 

“Something's wrong.” Tikki had been flitting about in distress since they'd de-transformed. She hadn't even touched the plate of madeleines that Marinette had put out for her. “This isn't right. He's not corrupted, he's not resisting. Why? Nooroo, what's going on!?”

 

“Tikki, slow down!” Marinette snatched the kwami out of the air. “What are you talking about? What's a nuru?” She nuzzled the bug, trying to calm her friend. “We know who Papillon is now, this is good news!” The girl started pacing. “Well, sort of. It's good that we know who Papillon is, but it's bad news _who_ he is. He's Adrien's father. Adrien! What's he going to think about this? Does he already know?” she gasped. “What if he already knows? Adrien might be cahooting with Papillon!”

 

Now it was the kwami's turn to try and calm her human. “Marinette, I'm sure Adrien isn't in cahoots with Papillon.” She flew up and patted Marinette's hair. “Trust me, if Nooroo had a willing champion, Papillon would have won long before.” The kwami started fretting again. “But there's still something wrong. All this time, we thought that Nooroo was being forced to help Papillon! Kwami aren't supposed to do evil deeds!”

 

“Are you telling me that Nooroo is a kwami? That's Papillon's kwami? The pink flash?”

 

“Yep. I thought he was being forced to make the Akuma with dark magic, but he's not! He's working _with_ Papillon!” Tikki dropped down to the surface of the desk. “I don't understand! We kwami are a force of good in the world.”

 

Marinette patted her friend. “We'll figure this out, Tikki. Don't worry.” Then something occurred to the girl. “We're going to have to tell Adrien.”

 

* * *

 

Adrien didn't know what, but there was something about Akuma attacks that made the whole day just a little more bearable. It might have been the interruption to the _incredibly_ boring routine of a photoshoot, or maybe the satisfaction of someone being able to work out their frustrations after being de-evilized, or maybe it was just the chance to see Ladybug for those precious few minutes.

 

He'd thought that the revelation of his alter-ego would have strained relations with his father even more, but it seemed the opposite had happened instead. If anything, Gabriel was being more attentive and considerate of his son's feelings. His father had even re-scheduled all the early-morning appointments that Adrien usually had on the weekends. When his son had asked about that, Gabriel had said,

 

“You're going to need more time to rest if you're to be out caterwauling at all hours of the night.”

 

That was it. Consideration for his night-life as Chat Noir, and a _cat pun_. That, and a small smile. And his father had lovingly rustled his hair as walked past, leaving his son shell-shocked in his office. When he'd gotten back to his room and the shock of it wore off, Adrien felt like his face was going to split from grinning.

 

“I don't trust it, kid,” Plagg said around a mouthful of cheese. “Nobody reacts this well to finding out their child is a Miraculous wielder.” Adrien frowned at his kwami.

 

“Really Plagg? Do you have to be a downer about everything? This is great! We had a fight, we came to an understanding, we share a secret! He's acting like my dad again!” The blonde smirked. “And I see you're not complaining about the mini-fridge full of exotic cheeses he had installed in my room, either.”

 

“Hey, just because I'm willing to take a windfall when it happens, doesn't mean I'm not going to be suspicious.” The kwami flew up in front of Adrien's nose. “This stinks more than Camembert.” A tiny black paw poked the boy's nose. “Don't trust him until you know why he's acting different.”

 

There went the good mood. “Don't tell me that I can't trust my own father, Plagg.” He batted the tiny cat away from his face. True, it was only the afternoon of the day after their argument, but Adrien was hopeful about things. How couldn't he be? But maybe Plagg had a point. He sighed. “Okay, look. We'll give it a couple more days, maybe I'll try talking with him some more. Would that make you feel better?”

 

The kwami gave a harrumph and went to curl up on the bed. Adrien just smiled and shook his head.

 

* * *

 

Marinette was pulling her hair out with nerves. Back and forth, back and forth, wearing a rut in her carpet. Tikki buzzed back and forth with her, trying to calm the girl with her presence and support. It was the next day, and the Parisian teen was putting off the deed. She knew she was putting it off. This was stressful, okay?

 

“So I'll just... walk up to him, and say, 'Hey Adrien, you know me, I'm Ladybug of course you know me and I know you because you're a famous model and I'm totally not a classmate and _oh my gosh Tikki I'm going to die!”_ She pulled her fingers down her face. The red kwami patted her girl on the head.

 

“Why don't you transform? You're always more confident when you're Ladybug, you know.”

 

Marinette hung her head and sighed. Tikki was right, of course. She _was_ always more confident as Ladybug. She wanted to have that same confidence as Marinette, too! But this probably wasn't the time to try self-help techniques, was it? They had a supervillain to confront. Or at least a civilian to warn. A totally cute civilian who she could barely speak to, much less impart life-changing revelations to. But that was as Marinette. Maybe the red and spots would help her feel a little more confident.

 

“Okay then. Tikki, Spots On!”

 

* * *

 

Ladybug found herself outside of Agreste mansion, once again spying on father and son. But this time fully planning on talking to one of them. Trouble was, though it was the weekend and Adrien was home (lying in his room, playing with something on his bed, it looked like), M Agreste- Papillon, was there as well. She'd have to be careful and lucky to be able to talk with Adrien without his father realizing that there was a Miraculous within his reach. Good thing Luck was practically her middle name.

 

Latching her yo-yo to an eave, she swung down to Adrien's window, and knocked lightly on the glass. It apparently startled him, as he spun around so fast he almost fell off his bed, and he tossed whatever he'd been playing with back behind the headboard. Ladybug wondered what it was if he was so embarrassed to be seen with it. The blonde levered himself up, and came to the window. He pulled it open, and Ladybug noticed the latch wasn't even attached to the frame.

 

“Hello my- uh, Ladybug! What brings me the pleasure?” He backed away, letting her jump down into the room.

 

“Pleasure's all mine, Adrien. Er, Monsieur Agreste.” Though she'd seen his room before, both as Marinette and as Ladybug, she couldn't help looking around wide-eyed at the décor. It was pretty hard not to be impressed. Adrien's room was still the most opulent she'd ever seen, and his collection of games and devices was huge.

 

“Please, just Adrien is fine. Can I get you anything? Water, soda...” He pulled out his desk chair. “...seat?”

 

Ladybug smiled a little. He was always so nice. But her face fell back into a determined cast as she reminded herself why she was here. It was almost too much to bear... but he had a right to know who he was living with.

 

“None of that for now.” She turned away from him, clasping her hands behind her back. “Adrien, I have something to tell you.”

 

“Wait, let me guess. You're secretly in love with me, and you're here to sweep me off my feet and make all my dreams come true?” Ladybug stiffened, the scarlet blush that appeared on her face making her feel like she was on fire. Teasing, she told herself. He was just teasing. He had no idea who she was, or anything. Fighting down the blush, she forced herself to get serious again.

 

“You can cut the joking, Adrien. This isn't a social call.” She turned back to him. “I recently discovered the civilian identity of Papillon.”

 

Adrien looked befuddled. Maybe a little worried, but then something like realization, and maybe acceptance came over his face. “Okay. And, you came to me with this information... because...”

 

“Because Papillon is Gabriel Agreste.”

 

“Okay, now I know why you don't joke. Your sense of humour is horrible.”

 

Ladybug frowned. “It's not a joke. I was keeping an eye on you by request of Chat Noir, and I saw your father transform into Papillon before the akuma attack at your photoshoot.”

 

“Okay, no, I get it now.” He turned away from her, throwing his hands up in the air and rolling his eyes. “Apparently, the Universe hates me.” He let his arms drop and just stood there.

 

“Adrien...”

 

“Really, though. Why else would you say that? My father starts actually being a father for the first time since my mom died. I get a visit from my favorite superhero, and the only thing she has to tell me is that my father is a supervillain.” He turned back to Ladybug, eyes hard. “Look, I don't care what you think you saw. You're not taking my parent away from me.”

 

Ladybug backed up, appalled. “Adrien, I would never even think about that!” She stomped her foot. “I'm just trying to keep you safe.”

 

“I can't believe I'd say this, but get out, Ladybug.”

 

“What?”

 

“Get. OUT.” Head down, he pointed at the still-open window.

 

Ladybug looked back one last time before swinging away out the window, but Adrien hadn't moved. Tears threatening, she sniffed once, then swung herself away. Only after she was well out of sight did Adrien move to close the window.

 

“She's got a point, kid.” Now that they were alone again, Plagg had come out from behind the bed.

 

“I don't want to hear it right now, Plagg.”

 

“If your old man really is Papillon, that makes it that much worse that he knows your other identity. We're going to have to take him out before he has a chance to get his hands on me.”

 

Fuming, Adrien looked up through his eyebrows at the dark god. “I meant what I said to Ladybug there. I feel like I've just got my father back. I _don't_ want to threaten that.”

 

Plagg hovered closer. “Haven't you thought that, maybe, this change in disposition is just a ploy?” The cat ignored his human's obvious agitation, and pushed ahead. “He finds our that you're Chat Noir, and suddenly he's being nice to you, when he's been cold and aloof for months?” The kwami landed on Adrien's shoulder, batting a stray blonde hair off his perch. “Look, I'm fully charged, Ladybug's probably still in the area, and Papillon doesn't know that we know who he is. Transform, and we can put him away!”

 

“No!” Startled by the force of the shout, Plagg fell off Adrien's shoulder.

 

Adrien slashed a hand through the air. “My dad is NOT Papillon! That is NOT why he's paying attention to me. He's NOT GOING AWAY!”

 

Maybe realizing his mistake, Plagg managed to get out a quiet “Wait, no, that's-” before Adrien ripped off his ring and the kwami vanished back into the miraculous stone. In the sudden empty stillness of the enormous room, you could just barely make out the sound of a boy, quietly sobbing.

 


	6. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Just a quick warning- this chapter contains some pretty intense emotional scenes, and while it wasn't my intention to parallel any more serious situations, there might be some triggers for those who have trouble with... let's call it "unopposable domination". Nothing graphic or particularly violent, anymore than you might see in the show itself, but...

“I'm so proud of you, Gabriel!” It was just after noon, and Nooroo was being insufferable, in an adorable way. Gabriel didn't have the heart to try and disrupt him from his hair nest, even. The butterfly would have flit right back, anyways. “Not for the Akuma, of course. I really wish you'd quit it with the supervillains thing, but apart from that...”

 

“I'm afraid I don't know what you're talking about, Nooroo.” Gabriel was trying to concentrate on a new set of designs. He put another page aside, paper covered in gestures of accessories and outfits. That last Akuma, The Stitcher; her costume had been incredibly, uniquely bold. Gabriel had immediately swooped down on the stylist 'victim' after the Cure had swept through. A creative mind that could come up with that sort of boldness in the middle of an emotional breakdown deserved to be nurtured and given a chance to grow. His kwami was, however, making his brainstorming miraculously difficult. Every time Nooroo's wings twitched or he shifted his position for a better view, it would tickle Gabriel's scalp. That caused tiny tremors in his gestures, ruining their lines.

 

“Well, for one thing, I was worried that you'd go after Adrien since you found out about him being Chat Noir.” The kwami rolled over happily in his hair nest, causing Gabriel's pen to scrawl across the page. The designer deliberately tore that page out of the sketchbook as well, shifting it to his discard pile. “But instead, you've used that knowledge to help build a stronger emotional bond with your son! It's so sweet how you gave him the morning off.”

 

“He's a growing boy, and now that I know how much more active he is, he needs his sleep. Can't have my frontline model with bags under his eyes.” Gabriel tapped his chin with his pencil. “Now that I think about it, I should have the chef increase his calorie count. He must be starving half the time.”

 

Though Gabriel couldn't see it, Nooroo had the smuggest look on his tiny pink face. “Another thing I was worried about was that as soon as you found out who Ladybug and Chat Noir were, you'd get all super-focused on your goal and start ignoring everything else.”

 

“I could only wish I could start ignoring everything. Maybe these designs would get done faster.”

 

Nooroo didn't pay him any mind. The kwami had learned that the best way to get M Agreste to pay attention was to make sure he couldn't focus on anything else. And right now, he didn't _want_ the man to be focused on his designs. His emotional health was, after all, much more important.

 

“In any case, I'm glad you're letting Adrien keep doing the Hero thing. This whole Le Papillon business is turning out a lot less evil than I originally thought.” At this, Gabriel had to look up. He cocked an eyebrow.

 

“Oh? And how's that?”

 

“Well, you remember Stoneheart, when you first made your Champion into an Akuma? I fought you so hard on that, I thought you were going to have that poor kid start crushing people before Ladybug and Chat Noir found the possessed item.”

 

Gabriel set his pencil down. “I would hardly push a teenager to _kill_ , Nooroo.”

 

The kwami pushed on. “And with the way you carry on when you're transformed. Positively chewing the scenery, I keep expecting you to Akumatize a mugger, or a, a murderer sometime.”

 

“You know I choose my targets very carefully. Le Papillon is a means to an end, and the theatricality is the best way to draw out the heroes. We don't want to push them into tracking me down with vengeance on their minds.”

 

Nooroo just nodded knowingly. “I think you enjoy the chance to let loose, too,” he teased. “I don't blame you. This sort of Saturday Morning villainy is sort of fun, you have to admit.”

 

A slight smile tugged at the corner of Gabriel's mouth. “Perhaps,” he said. “Would you care to test that hypothesis? After all, even if I'm not punishing him as Adrien, that doesn't mean I can't push him as Chat Noir, does it?”

 

“I'm all charged and ready, Gabe!”

 

“Alright then. Noorooo, Wings Rise!”

 

A flash of pink light, and Gabriel was once again clad in his kwami-created suit and mask. It was only after the transformation completed that he realized how foolish it was to transform in his office, in the middle of the day. He was doing rather a lot of 'work' from his office these days. No matter.

 

He strode to the door, locking it, then pulled the drapes, shutting out the light except for a thin line of white. The villain positioned himself so that the light would fall across his face, a little to the side, and a little slanted from vertical. Style, after all, was the spice of life.

 

Le Papillon threw out his awareness, ready to search the city for just the right sort of anger or sorrow to fuel an Akuma. He didn't have to spread his emotional net very far, though. In fact, only two rooms over, he sensed a presence that was both new, and well known. It was a sadness he had felt before, a mix of sorrow and pain and fear that he normally would have passed by, a blend of emotions so strong that the Akuma it created would be powerful and dangerous- but it was a tempest of emotions he knew himself.

 

“It isn't fair that Ladybug should try to put a wedge between a son and his father. It isn't fair that a kwami try and turn you against the only family you have left. There's no pain like the loss of a loved one, is there Adrien. I feel that same exquisite anguish, every day my beloved is separated from me. Help me get the Miraculous, and I- no, WE will be able to bring your mother back.” Though Adrien couldn't see the villain, he could feel the connection. He could imagine Papillon crushing his hand into a fist beside him, the raw power of the man's conviction. In a room only meters away, tears dripped down the dark leathery surface of a mask.

 

This time, Papillon didn't push. By the time the Akuma had reached Adrien, and landed on the picture of his mother he was holding, the dark magic had bled off, leaving it shining and white. Though Adrien's father had often pushed for his own way in things, Gabriel would not force his son on this. For the first time, Le Papillon wasn't searching for a victim, but asking for a Champion. And there would be no more secrets between father and son.

 

“Adrien, this is my purpose. This has _always_ been my purpose. My son, help me. Claim the Ladybug Miraculous, let me utilize the power of the Kwami of Destruction. Let us bring your mother _back_.”

 

Tears dripped onto the picture of Adrien's mother. “You can do that? Father, can you really do that?”

 

“Ultimate power, leveraged towards one singular goal. We will break the bonds of mortality, son. But I cannot do it without you.”

 

“Then I only have one thing to say.

 

“Yes, Papillon.”

 

* * *

 

“Oh Tikki, I just feel horrible!” Hair pulling seemed to be becoming something of a habit with Marinette as of late. The kwami in question was getting concerned that her human wouldn't have any hair left by the time Papillon was defeated and things got a little less stressful.

 

“I'm sure that Adrien will calm down after a little while. You let him know, and that's the important part. What he does with it becomes up to him, now.” The kwami patted the back of Marinette's hand. “And look at the bright side! Adrien doesn't know you're Ladybug, so he's not mad at Marinette! Maybe you can use this chance to get a little closer to him in your civilian identity.”

 

Blue eyes glared out from black bangs.

 

“That's not a bright side, Tikki. That just means he'll hate me more if he ever finds out.” The girl flopped back on her bed. “There is no way that this week could get any worse.” A notification beeped on her phone, so she rolled over to look at it. It was an update to the Ladyblog.

 

Alya's blog had started out as little more than a few paragraphs and some shakily-taken pictures about Paris' newest attractions, but over the months it had grown into _the_ place for all things Superhero. The blog was still the most-viewed part, of course, but the comments section had morphed into a forum where people speculated about everything from what the next Akuma would be to whether or not Ladybug and Chat Noir got royalties on their merchandises (they didn't). By far the most important part, though, was the section that Alya had put together to act as a first-response warning for Akuma sightings. It had gotten to the point that Marinette almost always heard about new Akuma via it- at least for the ones she wasn't on-site for herself.

 

And that was exactly what this phone alert was. Another Akuma had been sighted, this time on the Eiffel Tower. What gave her pause, though, was the description of the Akuma. People were saying it was like a white version of Chat Noir, and that he called himself Chat Blanc. Looking at the pictures folks were uploading, Marinette had to admit that the Akuma did indeed look like a palette-swapped version of her partner.

 

She groaned. Not another copyChat! The last one had been hard enough to deal with- she was just lucky the whole 'emotional conflict' worked out in the heroes' favor that time. Well, regardless, it was an Akuma, and she was the one that had to Purify it. She hoped she'd meet up with Chat before getting to the Tower. Get this one out of the way quickly.

 

At the very least, this ought to take her mind off the Adrien problem.

 

* * *

 

Chat didn't show up by the time Ladybug reached the Champ de Mars. She paused for a moment at the edge of the park, looking up at the tower. There on the upper platform she could just about make out a dot of white.

 

This Chat Blanc was a very odd Akuma. Even stranger than the Evillustrator or Copycat had been. At least they'd caused a little chaos, even if they'd not been too destructive or, well, evil (name notwithstanding in Nathaniel's case). But Chat Blanc hadn't done anything. He'd announced himself, in typical Akuma fashion, but according to the Ladyblog's notification, it had been after casually strolling up to the elevator gates of the Tower. He'd rode up along with a car full of passengers, casually making small-talk with them before getting off at the top and climbing the rest of the way to the tip.

 

And then he'd just stood there. Pacing, occasionally, but mostly just standing, brooding out over the city like some sort of comic-book vigilante. Regardless, he was an Akuma, and she was Ladybug. She had to get to purifying him sooner or later, and she'd rather not have to fight all day. She flicked out her yo-yo and swung herself up to the ledge.

 

There was no reaction from Chat Blanc. He just continued standing there, staring out over the city, wind gently ruffling his blonde hair. Ladybug approached him cautiously.

 

“Have you ever lost someone, Ladybug?” he asked without turning. “I don't think you have. You're too happy.” Now he did turn around, facing her with his hands clasped behind his back. Ladybug hopped back, settling into a stance to dodge whatever he might do. He really did look uncannily like Chat Noir, even from this close. It wasn't just his appearance- his mannerisms and his voice, too. It wasn't him, though... In fact, that profile... Was this Adrien?

 

“I'm not blaming you for being happy. In fact, I wish you all the luck in the world, that you never have to experience that kind of loss.”

 

This was bizarre. Ladybug had never seen such a calm Akuma before. Chat Blanc seemed just sort of sad, more than anything. But that meant that she might be able to reason with him.

 

“Okay, Chat Blanc, right? You seem like Papillon hasn't gotten to you too much. How about you hand over the Akuma, I can purify it, and we'll just both head on home.”

 

“Chat Blanc? Wha-?” Blanc looked down at himself, seeming surprised at what he was wearing. He spun a little, almost chasing the belt tail behind him. “Oh! Right, I forgot I looked different.” He gave a toothy grin to Ladybug. “I will admit, though, I'm a little hurt that you don't recognize me, My Lady.” He twirled away a little, hands still clasped. “I suppose it wouldn't be your first reaction, considering prior Akumas. That, however, is neither here nor there.”

 

"I recognize you, Adrien Agreste. Your face is plastered over half of Paris, after all." The Akuma looked stunned that she knew his civilian name, but he quickly shook it off, like all Akumas did when people tried appealing to their human side.

 

“Let's get down to brass tacks. I would like your Miraculous. I will fight you for it if I absolutely have to, but I'd much prefer it if you handed it over yourself.”

 

This was more like it. One way or another, they were always after the Miraculous. “You know I can't do that, Chat Blanc.” Oddly, this seemed to make him legitimately sad. The infectious grin disappeared, replaced by a world-weary frown. Still, he wasn't getting angry.

 

“I suppose, then, that we'll have to see which of us is the more powerful.” He drew out a golden baton. “En guarde, my Lady.”

 

He thrust, the baton extending in the blink of an eye, but Ladybug had been expecting that. She dodged aside, diving off the edge of the Tower, dropping her yo-yo head to anchor to the platform. Using the momentum of her fall, she swung herself under the Tower before releasing the yo-yo's grip.

 

It seemed that Chat Blanc was expecting that, however. Ladybug yelped and dodged the staff that punched through the floor and embedded itself in the ground below. She managed to catch herself from free fall before hitting the concrete, pausing to catch her breath as the staff retracted.

 

The people of Paris knew what to do during an Akuma attack. The Tower tour guides had closed off the area immediately after realizing what was happening, and quickly started evacuating tourists through the elevators. By now, the steel structure was almost completely empty- the nearest people were police officers, manning a cordon around the plaza and keeping people at a distance. So there was plenty of space for Ladybug to dodge Chat Blanc's attacks.

 

He'd dropped down hard after her, not even using his staff to break his fall, and Ladybug could see that the concrete had cracked where he'd landed. He came on strong, too. Direct, powerful. Claws batted her yo-yo out of the air, fists and feet flew in to bludgeon, only to be stopped, painfully, on blocking arms and shins. And still, despite the flurry of blows, Ladybug felt like he was holding back. He still wore that disappointed look on his face, and it was unnerving her.

 

Best to get this over with quickly, then. The next time he leapt in, aiming a cat-printed sole at her torso, she grabbed his calf and spun, using the momentum to fling him towards one of the legs of the Tower. Even though she had no idea what the possessed item was, she threw her yo-yo up to conjure her Lucky Charm.

 

 

This is what Chat had been waiting for. Still in the air, he flipped himself so his feet were pointing at the Tower's leg in the direction he was flying, and snapped his baton out. Aiming it downwards (relative to him) he extended it. The free end of the pole impacted into the iron supports, rocketing Chat back towards Ladybug.

 

White-gloved hands grabbed the yo-yo before it reached the top of its arc, canceling the spell before it had a chance to form the item that would have ensured the heroine's victory. Ladybug for her part wasn't entirely sure what to do, gaping up as Chat Blanc soared over her head and landed behind her. It was distracting enough that she didn't notice how he'd left the pole extended.

 

Chat landed on his feet facing away from his opponent and dropped into a sideways roll, knees tucked up under his chin. In the process, he pulled his staff across his body, tripping Ladybug. He let go of both Miraculous weapons once he was on his back, rolled himself into a crouch, and pounced on the now prone superhero, pinning her down.

 

“Let me go!” Ladybug shouted, trying to wriggle out of the pin. Chat Blanc was stronger, though, pulling her one arm into a hammerlock while her other was caught beneath her. He reached for her ears. Her eyes went wide, and she began to panic. “No! Please, no, don't take it! You can't let Papillon win!” She began yelling. “Chat Noir! Chat, where are you?!”

 

Chat Blanc paused, his hand resting on her neck. She tried to pull away.

 

“I'm right here, Bugaboo,” he said, brushing his knuckles along her jaw.

 

She froze.

 

“Chat?” She started struggling again, but weaker than before. It was like she'd given up, and it broke his heart. “Adrien, this isn't a joke, this isn't like you! Don't let your father win!”

 

“I'm sorry, Ladybug.” His hand turned, and he pulled one earing from her ear as gently as he could. She bucked, trying to throw him off, get his grip looser. She pushed her head down on the concrete, turned so that her other ear, with her remaining earring, was out of reach.

 

“I won't let you do this. I won't-” but his claws squeezed in between the pavement and her hair, turning her head and pushing her face into the ground before turning it all the way. Chat winced a little, but he knew she wouldn't be hurt from the pressure. Even with just one earring, the Miraculous armoured his Lady.

 

Silently, he pulled the other earring off. This one didn't come as easily, as though the Kwami inhabiting it wasn't letting go, and it tore her earlobe a little. As soon as the flash of de-transformation started, Chat let her go, getting to his feet and turning away.

 

She would still have her identity. That was the least he could do.

 

His ears told him she wasn't getting up. Wasn't moving. What was the point? She hadn't managed to stop him when she was Ladybug, with all the mystical might of a tiny god at her fingertips- what could she do as a regular human girl? Slowly, he strode to his staff, picking it up and shrinking it down before putting it back in place at the small of his back.

 

“For what it's worth, Papillon isn't as big a threat as we all thought. And I'll try to get your Miraculous back to you whe-... after. After it's done. For what it's worth.” Chat Blanc looked down at the earrings in his hand. Such small things.

 

The girl that used to be Ladybug- no, the girl that _was_ Ladybug, didn't make a sound. Didn't move. Long seconds passed; then, with a final, whispered “I'm sorry,” Chat Blanc dashed off, leaping onto one of the roofs surrounding the plaza and disappearing from sight. Behind him, he left a broken girl, whose sobs echoed quietly off the tower above her.

 

* * *

 

As much as Marinette wanted to just lie there and die, she knew she had to get moving. For whatever reason, Chat Blanc had left her with her secret identity, and she didn't want to lose it now to the police who were pushing in the cordon. She rolled to her knees and ran off through a gap in the police line. It was getting late in the afternoon, and the shadows were long enough that she didn't think they'd gotten a good look at her. Hopefully everyone would just assume the fight had moved somewhere else in the city.

 

She didn't want to go home. As she wandered through the darkened streets of the city, her feet guided her, almost on instinct, to a little Chinese massage parlor a few blocks away from her house. The owner was one of the few people that knew about the Miraculous. She'd met him when Tikki had been sickened by an Akuma attack, and he'd been acting as a mentor to her ever since. Now, though, he was perhaps her only recourse- the one link between her civilian and superhero lives.

 

She knocked on the door. It slid open, and there was Master Fu, complete with red Hawaiian shirt and pointy goatee. He ushered her into his studio, where there was already a pot of tea steeping. Marinette didn't know whether he brewed the tea just for the meetings, knowing with whatever preternatural sense he had that she was about to show up, or if it was just a constant feature in his house regardless, but the smell of it comforted her.

 

"And what brings you to me tonight, Marinette?" he asked after they'd both sat and taken a sip. "And where is Tikki?"

 

This reminder brought fresh tears to the girl's eyes. She blinked them away. "Tikki's gone."

 

Fu stiffened, kindly smile frozen on his face for a moment, then took another sip of his tea like they'd been discussing the weather.

 

"She's gone, and it's all my fault!" Marinette continued. Her voice rose, but her eyes clenched shut as she went on. "I didn't wait for Chat Noir, I went in alone like I could handle it myself. 'It's just an Akuma,' right? Nothing I haven't handled before. But he wasn't just an Akuma. It was Adrien, and he beat me, and he TOOK MY MIRACULOUS!" She slammed her clenched fist against the table, rattling the china. They sat like that for several second, a clock in the corner the only sound as it tick-tick-ticked. Finally, Master Fu broke the silence.

 

"You should drink your tea before it gets cold."

 

CRASH!

 

The sound of breaking porcelain cracked over his last word. Marinette was on her feet, arm still outstretched from where she'd thrown her cup. "WHY AREN'T YOU TAKING THIS SERIOUSLY!?" she shrieked. Her face was red, eyes wide and bloodshot. "Call Chat Noir, tell me I need to call the police, something! We can't just sit here and drink tea like there's nothing wrong!" She grabbed her hair, pulling hard enough that strands started coming loose. "Papillon's winning!" She gasped, hyperventilating.

 

"Would you like to sit down, Marinette?" Master Fu said, still calm, still relaxed. If her display had bothered him, he didn't let it show.

 

"How can I just sit and do nothing?" The girl shook her head, fists at her sides. "Coming here was a stupid idea, I don't know why I thought you could help." She moved towards the door. "I need to get back out there and-"

 

"And do what!?"

 

The sharp, hard question stopped her in her tracks. Marinette had never heard Master Fu speak in that tone of voice before. The hard, focused look in his eyes was new, too.

 

"This is NOT the time to rush into the guàiwù's [Ogre] den. You would be devoured, and to no-one's benefit but Papillon's." He gestured again to the seat she had vacated. "So sit, and calm yourself." Marinette complied meekly. After she had once again sat down, he stood. "I will fetch you another cup. Take the time, and try to meditate, if you can. Calm the raging storm so we can navigate this misfortune without being washed away."

 

A minute or more passed, Marinette wasn't sure. She tried to do what Master Fu had said, controlling her breathing and attempting to think of "Nothing and Everything" as he'd taught her, but it was _hard_. So hard. She missed the soft weight of Tikki on her knee, and every time flashed back to Adrien's eyes- his calm, kind eyes- behind the white mask, as he ripped her friend away from her. And the anger forced its way back. Anger at Papillon, anger at Adrien, anger at Chat Noir, but mostly anger at herself for not winning. Or running, waiting for backup when Chat Blanc had the upper hand. But each time, the pain was a little less. The anger was let go more easily, until Marinnette could remember without the hurt of the memories distracting her.

 

After what seemed like hours, Fu finally returned, with a new teacup in hand. He sat down opposite her, and poured for them both again.

 

"Neutral Jin," he said as Marinette took her cup.

 

"What?" the girl asked, puzzled at this apparent turn in the conversation.

 

"We must wait, and listen. Practice Neutral Jin, after this change in the conflict with Papillon." He took a sip, and settled back in his chair. "I cannot contact Chat Noir," he started with. A lie, Fu knew, but a necessary one. Because if Adrien had been taken by Papillon, the situation was more dire than Marinette knew. It had been Fu, after all, who had gifted the Black Cat Miraculous to the boy in the first place. "Papillon holds all of the cards, now. Even with the Black Cat to confront his Akuma, without the Ladybug we cannot purify them, or fix the damage they wreak. We must see what he does next, now that he has the Ladybug's Stones." Another sip. Marinette, he was glad to see, seemed to have finally calmed down. She was listening carefully, and thinking. That was good.

 

"I believe you know something about your foe that you did not before, correct?" Marinette nodded. "Then you must _use_ that. Do not attack, thinking to confront him in the height of his power. But no longer can you simply _react_ , waiting for him to make the first move. Instead, you must observe him, and strike when you can have the greatest impact with the resources you have at hand." Seeing that she had finished her tea, he drained his own cup, setting it back on the tray. This prompted her to do the same. They stood together. "Now, you should return home. Get some rest, and come at this problem fresh in the morning. Watch how Papillon will react now that his goal is within reach. Often, that is when overconfidence strikes, and a foe may be most easily defeated." They were at the door now, and bowed to each other.

 

"Thank you, Master Fu," Marinette said. She felt calmer, now. "I will do as you say, and let you know if I learn anything new."

 

Fu watched as the girl he'd chosen walked away into the night, then turned back to his shop. As he set himself to tidying up, a small green kwami floated out of the back room.

 

"Are you sure this is the right thing to do?" the kwami asked. "Perhaps we should let her know we could help more. We might transform, and with her knowledge..."

 

Fu let out a short laugh. "Wayzz, you are a cruel taskmaster. You know my back is still not fully healed. I would be in bed for a _week_ after a single night of patrolling."

 

"But if Papillon wins..."

 

"I am not so sure things are as dire as they appear." Fu peered into his and Marinette's cups, reading the tea leaves left therein. "The portents are positive, still. Though darkness approaches, I do not think it is one that she and he cannot overcome." He patted the kwami on its head. "Have faith, my friend. Everything will work out. You'll see."

 


	7. Chapter 7

It felt like it should have been storming. There should have been thunder and lightning, sheets of rain and wind pounding against the windows. It seemed like everything should have been taking place in a dark room, lit by smoking braziers of red fire as the clock wound down towards midnight. But instead, it happened in the early morning, blue skies visible through the eye-shaped window and fluorescent lamps shining off the polished marble floor.

 

Chat Blanc had returned the previous night to find Gabriel, not Papillon, waiting for him. His father had immediately enveloped him in a hard hug.

 

“I'm sorry,” he said. He gave another squeeze, then held his son at arm's length. “I saw. I- I didn't realize how hard that would be for you.”

 

Chat sniffed a little. He'd tried to stay composed, but it was hard. “It'll be worth it, right?” he asked. Pleaded, really. Because if this didn't work, or if his father didn't follow through... if he'd hurt, maybe destroyed his relationship with Ladybug for nothing...

 

Gabriel pulled him back in for another, lighter hug. “There's my strong boy. We'll bring her back, then everything will be alright. You'll see.”

 

“...Dad?”

 

“Yes, son?”

 

“How do I change back?”

 

Gabriel thought for a moment, and then had to laugh. This wasn't exactly something that had ever come up with his Akuma- none of them had ever won. But a Champion, it seemed, was a different story. “You know, I'm not entirely sure? It's never really been necessary. Here, let's go into my office and we can ask Nooroo about it.

 

For Chat Blanc, the whole situation had the flavour of the unreal about it. The role reversal, with him barely saying two words while his father practically bustled about like a mother hen, making sure Chat was settled before calling in to the kitchen and telling the chef to prepare some hors d'œuvres to be brought in later.

 

Nooroo was introduced, pulling a smile from Chat when the purple kwami squealed in excitement and started doing backflips in the air, tiny wings fluttering madly. He was more than happy to explain the ins and outs of his butterflies to "Gabe's boy" as he put it.

 

Because Chat Blanc was a champion instead of an Akuma, and the transformation had been totally voluntary, it was a simple matter of consciously choosing to let go of the energy. Chat Blanc imagined himself turning back from Chat Noir to his civilian identity. He remembered the feeling of the transformation leaving him, and the magic flowed out of him.

 

"Hello there little butterfly," Adrien said to the snow-white insect perched on his finger. He looked up at his father's kwami. "So what happens now?"

 

"Well, for now, you have a new pet butterfly. But once Gabe transforms again, he'll be able to decide whether to re-absorb its power, or let it remain with his Champion."

 

"That's a little different than how it works with Cataclysm, isn't it?" Adrien commented. His father spoke.

 

"That is because my butterflies aren't my ultimate spell." The man sat down across from his son, hands resting on his knees. "My Champions and Akuma are more akin to your and Ladybug's Luck Auras. As Le Papillon, I also have an Ultimate spell that drains Nooroo's energy, but it has never been useful to the situation." Precise hands gestured in the air. "The different Miraculouses all have different kinds of powers. The Ladybug and the Black Cat are paired, and so they both bestow very similar abilities on their wielders. Other stones and kwami, though they may also be paired in a metaphorical sense, have skills that vary widely from one another." He gestured towards the painting of Adrien's mother behind his desk. "I used to have a tome of knowledge about the Miraculouses, but it went missing some time ago, before I had a chance to fully decipher all of the relevant pages." A single, wry eyebrow was raised at the boy. "You wouldn't happen to know anything about that, would you?"

 

"I, eh, hehe," was all Adrien got out, rubbing the back of his head bashfully. "Plagg opened the safe one day and I took it to school to look at it. It, uh, sorta got stolen."

 

"I see." Gabriel leaned back in his chair. He looked exhausted, and Adrien marveled at this chance to see his father with his guard down. "Well, I suppose it can't really be helped. Those sorts of artifacts have a way of finding who they belong with. I guess my time with the book was up."

 

"I'm sorry." Adrien wasn't sure whether he meant for the book, or for, well, everything.

 

"I imagine you are," his father said. The bluntness of the statement made the boy wince. "But I suppose that I am sorry as well." Adrien looked up at his father. The man was looking down at his hands, clasped in his lap. "All this time, the both of us were at odds with each other, and not just on the battlefield." He sighed. "Since your mother died, all I could think of was how alone I felt, how much I missed her." He clenched a fist. "How I had to get her back, somehow. I found Nooroo and the book, and suddenly knew that was possible. And I forgot about you, and how you must have been feeling." Gabriel looked up, straight into the green eyes of his son. "I promise you, I won't do that anymore. I will make sure to make time for you, any time, for any reason."

 

If he hadn't been cryed out already, Adrien would probably have teared up at that. As it was, he just swallowed and nodded. The boy's eyebrows beetled. "We're still bringing Mom back, though, right?" His father laughed, again, eliciting another squeal of delight from Nooroo.

 

"Of course. _After_ we've gotten a good night's sleep." He waggled a finger at his son. "I've learned in my career of Supervillainy that you should never try to plot without sleep." The intercom rang, and the chef let them know the hors d'œuvres were ready. "Or on an empty stomach."

 

The rest of the evening passed in much the same way. Adrien and his father and Nooroo sitting in Gabriel's office, talking about kwami, eating finger foods, and just generally relaxing. It felt almost dirty to Adrien. He felt guilty that, as soon as he 'switched sides', everything seemed to be going so smoothly. If his father noticed him falling quiet at odd times, or how little he laughed along with the elder Agreste, well, Gabriel didn't say anything about it. But Adrien tried to relax and put it out off his mind. The next day, if all went well, he'd be getting his mother back again. And that was worth any amount of guilt.

 

Bedtime came late, and with a lot of tossing and turning. The silver ring behind the bed weighed on his mind until Adrien finally fell into a fitful sleep.

 

Which brought them to the next day, and the incongruously bright setting for a momentous event.

 

It turned out that there was a room in the Agreste mansion that Adrien had never seen. Cavernous and almost completely empty, dominated by a huge irising window facing the Eiffel Tower. M Agreste had somehow managed to get a huge marble plinth inside, and it was positioned in the center of the room, under the gaze of the window.

 

Adrien fingered his ring nervously. His father had been right- he felt better after sleeping, even if it hadn't been particularly restful. If Gabriel was nervous, the man didn't show it. The morning had been tense, but not awkward. The usual silent breakfast hadn't had the air of simmering dissatisfaction hanging over it, instead being just... expectant. And now they were here. Gabriel standing at the base of the plinth, gently stroking the rosewood box he'd put the Ladybug Miraculous stones in.

 

"Are you ready, Adrien?" he asked. Adrien waited a moment to answer, rolling the ring in his hand.

 

"Yeah. Here." The blonde walked up to the plinth and set the ring down next to the box. The Black Cat and Ladybug Miraculouses were reunited again.

 

"I think you should stand back. I'd ask you to leave the room, but I think you deserve to be here to watch this."

 

"And I'd probably come sneaking back in anyways," Adrien said, smirking.

 

"Yes, that too." Gabriel nodded. "Alright then. Nooroo, are you ready?" The kwami, who had been waiting in the corner of the room, fluttered up and squeaked affirmation. Gabriel struck a pose, which almost had Adrien giggling- he was finding all sorts of unexpected sides to his father recently. "Nooroo, Wings Rise!"

 

Standing right next to someone doing a Kwami transformation- getting to _watch_ them, was a new experience for Adrien. He'd been on the inside of the flash of light and swirling colors, but it had always felt so much longer to him. The second or two it took from the outside was just moments of brilliant light. Then, purple. The suit certainly _looked_ like something his father would wear, though the cowl was just a single sparkle away from being gauche. Then Adrien noticed a slight problem.

 

"How are you going to wear the Ladybug earrings with your mask in the way?"

 

Papillon's hand immediately went up to the side of his head, pawing at the slick kwami-stuff that made up his cowl. "What? Oh, right." Slender fingers pulled a little at the mouth hole, and the fabric pulled aside. "You can take the outfits off, if you want."

 

Adrien quirked an eyebrow, puzzled. "But Ladybug's mask wouldn't come off when Lady Wifi tried."

 

"That's because she didn't want it to. The Kwami have to accede to the will of their host- that is why the Guardian's role is so important."

 

His son held up a hand to pause him. "Wait, Guardian?" When Papillon took a breath to expound, Adrien lowered his hand again. "No, no, nevermind. We'll have time for lessons later. Earrings now."

 

Papillon smirked a little. "Indeed." He plucked the box off the table. "Luckily- hah!- the Ladybug Miraculous are not only earrings." Pulling the stones out of the box, he fiddled with their posts a little. He shook out his sleeves, revealing what looked like- were those cuffs? French cuffs? Adrien gaped. There was no way...

 

Papillon clipped the Ladybug Miraculous stones on to his cuffs as cufflinks. There was a bright flash of white light, and when it cleared, Adrien saw a tiny, red being hovering in front of Papillon. It looked like Plagg, almost, if Plagg were... smoother. No ears, and with a single large spot on its bulbous forehead. It must have been the Ladybug Kwami. And it was glaring at his father.

 

"If you think for one second that I'll help you-" it started, but Papillon cut it off.

 

"Don't speak to me unless I tell you you can." It stopped, mouth snapping shut like a mousetrap. Its arms folded petulantly across its torso. Papillon grinned, and it creeped Adrien out a little. The man shouldn't have been enjoying this so much. "Now, I know you and your... partner, have roped my son and some innocent girl into this crusade against me. You were quite persistent in your attempts to avoid falling into my clutches, and I have to wonder why. Everything would have been so much simpler if you'd just... willingly handed yourselves over. You tried to keep yourselves from me, ME! Who would be able to-"

 

"Dad!"

 

Both heads snapped towards the voice. Adrien took a breath, steeling himself.

 

"Look, I know you've been waiting for this, but maybe leave off the monologuing? You're starting to sound like a Sunday Noon cartoon villain."

 

Gabriel put his arms down, adjusting his collar on the way and clearing his throat. He'd been in a... pose. Clawing at the air above him, not even looking at the kwami in front of him, silloughetted in front of the occular window. It occured to Adrien that this wasn't the first time his father had done this, and the thought that this hammy, animated... being, was his cool, emotionless father, just wasn't sitting right with him.

 

The sooner his mother was back, the better.

 

"Adrien, please, you can't let Papillon do this!" What? The kwami was talking to him! Hadn't Papillon ordered it not to?

 

"Um..."

 

"Tikki, be quiet until I tell you to talk." Glaring daggers at the suited man, the kwami complied. "I should have thought of that. Sloppy of me, really." He looked at his son. "Another quick lesson on dealing with reticent kwami- they will take your orders literally, if they want to. I told her not to talk to me, but said nothing about you."

 

A hand rubbed at blonde hair. "Look, could we just get this over with? I'm just starting to feel a little uncomfortable about all... this." He waved a hand at the two. His father's face softened.

 

"Yes, of course." Papillon swallowed. "Well, in order to remove at least one distraction..."

 

"Distraction?" Adrien muttered, feeling a little hurt. "No, don't worry about it. You've survived Plagg, you can take this."

 

"Alright, Tikki. Tell me how to use your powers," Papillon said, smirking down at the kwami. "And just so you don't think about being cute with me, yes, that means you can talk now."

 

"Just so you know, I'm cute _all_ the time," the little being snarked, before letting out a tiny sigh. In a monotone voice, and with occasional glances over at Adrien, she began. "Well first, the Transformation phrase is 'Spots On'-"

 

What followed was almost fifteen minutes of Kwami shop-talk. Adrien thought it was altogether too much, but then again, when he'd first gotten Plagg, he hadn't even known about how Cataclysm worked. His father, though... He seemed to know exactly what to ask or demand from Tikki to coax extra information out of her when she seemed to be recalcitrant. Even when it seemed like the kwami was being straightforward, Papillon would ask a question that would reveal some deeper mechanic of the ability that she hadn't mentioned. It would have been neat, if it weren't so utterly _boring_.

 

Finally it was over. Papillon had extracted all the information he needed from an increasingly irate kwami, and held his arms out in front of him, palms flat to the floor.

 

"This day will mark when I finally reign victorious, and my mark will be made on the world. Red, the blood of angry men. Black, the night before the dawn. Tikki, Spots On!"

 

Adrien hadn't been entirely sure what to expect with someone other than his Lady wearing the Miraculous, but he was glad of one thing. The Ladybug transformation didn't override the Papillon one, so he didn't have to see his father in a skintight ladybug print bodysuit.

 

Instead, it looked like the Ladybug transformation just added accents to the suit of the Butterfly- a second set of lapels over the original, red and spotted, and the inner layer of the suit itself turning bright red. There was also a pocket and buttons that appeared on the previously smooth front of the suit, with a red chain connecting the buttons and going into the pocket. Other than that, there was little that changed.

 

Papillon reached down and pulled on the chain, drawing the Ladybug yo-yo from the pocket.

 

"Excellent," he said. He tucked the yo-yo back, patting the pocket. "And now for the Black Cat." He reached for the ring, but Adrien put his hand over it first.

 

"This isn't going to hurt him, is it?" The boy swallowed. "Plagg is an ass, but he's always been there for me when it counted."

 

Papillon smiled softly at his son. "Plagg will be fine. Kwami are eternal, and unchanging. Nothing can harm them. That much was clear from the book, and from what I've asked Nooroo." The villain held out his hand. "Shall we?" Adrien nodded, picking up the ring and depositing it in the waiting palm.

 

The interrogation that followed was similar to that of Tikki, except that Plagg seemed a lot less concerned that it was Papillon who had activated him. The cat kwami barely even acknowledged his former holder, just yawning and lying back in midair as though this sort of thing happened every day. It took just as long, though. Plagg may have not seemed to care about his ring being worn by Papillon, but he was just too lazy to actually volunteer any of the specific information that the man wanted.

 

Finally, though, it was over. Papillon had learned all he needed, gotten the activation phrase, and, with a slightly sheepish look at his son's raised eyebrow, triggered the transformation; this time, without the accompanying dramatic speech.

 

Once again, the transformation didn't change much about Papillon's costume. His gloves and shoes turned black, and he gained a black belt with the Black Cat's tail-like extension, baton hanging to the side.

 

All in all, he looked ridiculous. In a very dignified way, of course.

 

Adrien snrked into his hand.

 

"What?" Papillon asked. The villain caught sight of his new tail, and instinctively turned to try and get it in view. This, of course, led to him spinning all the way around before he realized what he was doing. "Hrmph!" he grunted, stomping lightly with his hands straight at his sides. "It appears that the two Miraculous of Balance come with some less than helpful instincts." He straightened his collar and brushed off his lapels. "Now that I know about them, I should be able to master myself enough to finish what we've started."

 

"Good. The sooner you do... whatever it is you're going to do with those, the sooner you can get out of that getup." Adrien grinned. "I've heard of wearing tails, but this is a little on the nose, isn't it?"

 

"Indeed."

 

The two stood in slightly awkward silence for a moment. The sun streaming in the window, both looking anywhere but at each other.

 

Adrien was the first to speak up. "I hate this," he said. Maybe it was the surreal setting- him next to someone wearing a purple, polka-dotted suit with a cat tail who happened to be his father and his nemesis of ten months. Maybe it was because that year, with him as a superhero, had been one of the best he could remember. Maybe it was because he'd been able to do what he wanted, say what he meant, without any negative repurcussions. Whatever it was, it meant that he was willing to speak his mind, and thought that this was maybe the best time to do so.

 

"I hate that we've been fighting each other for so long. Even before I got the Miraculous, we were fighting, even if I never really pushed back. And that's not how it should be. We're both all we had. I don't know about you, but I was starting to hate you a little before I ran away to school. And the first thing we're bonding over was me betraying my partner." The boy threw his hands up. "And Mom's been dead for a year now. We've been just... ignoring that! Acting like there's nothing wrong, but there is." He hung his head. "I know that's not going to be an issue much longer, but that doesn't excuse it." His voice dropped to a whisper. "And we need to think about what we'll do if this doesn't work." He looked at his father again. "Do we just go back to how we were? You, cold and distant? Me, stifling and wanting to escape you?"

 

"That's not going to be a problem. You'll see. I've researched this, I've experimented. I _know_ it will work. It has to," his father said, last part falling off to a mumble. Adrien sighed and backed up. He'd argue, but this wasn't the time, or the place.

 

_Just... let him do his thing. We can talk later,_ he thought to himself.

 

 

 

Papillon steeled himself. This, this was what he'd been preparing for. This was why he'd embarked on his campaign of villainy in the first place. Why he'd kept fighting, even when it had been revealed that his opponents were mere children. His wife. Mother of his child. Partner in everything. Stolen from him.

 

And now, he would snatch her back.

 

"Death claims us all, but always we fight against it. Some are taken too soon, and until now, we were forced to succumb to the whims of fate. But we have claimed the power to fight back. The power of gods, to control the world.

 

"First, Creation. A vessel for the spirit." He pulled out the yo-yo, and started it to spinning. "Lucky Charm!" he cried, tossing it into the air. The magic sparkles of the spell fell to the plinth, settling around an invisible shape before flashing one last time and vanishing. They revealed the form of a beautiful woman dressed in an ephemeral gown of seafoam green, its simple lines accentuating her graceful neck and fine chin. Sun-blonde hair lay in smooth piles framing a heart-shaped face and closed eyes, which, Papillon knew, would be a brilliant emerald green when they opened. He reached forward and gently stroked her hand.

 

"Ma cocotte, soon we shall be together again. And evermore shall nothing keep us apart." He pulled back, sliding the yo-yo back into its pocket, then shook out his sleeves.

 

"Second, Destruction. To tear asunder the barrier between worlds. Cataclysm!"

 

What Papillon did next was something Adrien hoped he never had to see again. He'd used Cataclysm many times as Chat Noir, but it had always been against an object- something physical. Beams had rusted, stone cracked, fabric decayed, but those had all been normal, everyday entropy, just faster. What his father was doing with the power was something else. Something worse.

 

Papillon's hands glowed black, gaining the bubbly black aura of the spell, and he reached up, grasping an invisible drapery, before clawing down. And behind his fingers dragged ruin. The air tore, fractured in a fractal that hurt his eyes to follow, and inside...

 

Sight is a sense most of us take for granted. Even those who go blind will 'see' blackness, an absense of light where there would otherwise be something visible. But some, who never saw in the first place, or those who had damage to their visual corices- their blindness isn't a field of black. It is an absense of any sensation. As easily have a shark explain to a man the sensation of tracking prey via electrical impulses, or a goose's ability to know magnetic North. One cannot imagine something they have no ability to sense, nor comprehend that which they can never experience.

 

This was what Adrien 'saw' within that horrible tear. It simply Wasn't. A shape that didn't exist, hanging in the morning sun. He had to turn away. Papillon, however, didn't seem to have any problem looking at-through-into the void.

 

"And now, the last part. The Guide, to bring her home." He drew his cane from the butterfly brooch on his chest, brandishing it boldly. A swarm of white butterflies exploded from the cane's head, swirling around their master before one pulled away, alighting on an outstreched hand. "Fly my Tenchi. Find her spirit, and give her the power to return to those she left behind!" The butterfly, now glowing a brilliant gold, disappeared into the gash.

 

What followed was the longest wait of Adrien's life. His father stood, cane outstretched, over his mother's... body, he supposed. He hadn't known that Ladybug's Lucky Charm could create something so large, or complex. But apparently it was really a body. He could even see its chest rise and fall, breathing lightly and evenly. Adrien looked from her to his father's face, mask scrunched up in concentration and twitching every so often. What the man was seeing, experiencing, the young hero couldn't begin to guess. Hopefully it was working, whatever he was doing.

 

It felt like hours, but must have been only minutes, before Papillon gasped. His eyes popped open, and he slumped forward. Adrien rushed to his side, supporting his father.

 

"It is done," Papillon gasped. "I found her." He looked at his son. "I found her, Adrien. She's coming back." Seconds later, the butterfly emerged from the tear, its glow diminished, and alighted on the body's breast. Her breathing increased in tempo, and Adrien felt his father's breath hitch as the last of the light faded from the butterfly, leaving it a pure white once more.

 

"And now, we close the portal. Claws In." The Black Cat transformation dropped from Papillon, and with it closed the tear, gone like it had never been. Papillon took his son's hand, and the boy felt a familiar weight. The silver ring- the Black Cat Miraculous stone. His father looked down at Adrien's questioning glance. "I won't need this anymore. Nor, I imagine, these. Spots Off," he said, and pulled the cufflinks off as the transformation left him. "Wings Fall!" and the purple suit and silver mask were pulled back into the brooch. He left Nooroo's Miraculous stone in place, though, and the purple kwami fluttered out and plopped himself on the floor, exhausted.

 

"Is she...?" Adrien asked, taking a hesitant step forward.

 

"She should be." Gabriel stepped with more confidence, Adrien following in his wake. "Beatrice? Mon Amie?" He cupped his wife's cheek in his palm, fingers brushing her hair. Green eyes pulled open slowly, focusing first on his face, then on the face of her son.

 

"Gabriel? Adrien?"

 

"Mom!" Adrien choked out, tears springing to his eyes.

 

Beatrice's eyes went wide as she sat bolt upright. "What have you done!?"

 

 

Fine boned hands pushed against marble, as Beatrice Agreste slid off the plinth. Finding her feet, she looked between her husband and son before taking a step. Gabriel grabbed her as she stumbled a little, and Adrien rushed to her, embracing her like he'd never let go.

 

"Take it easy, ma cocotte. This body is brand new, after all, and you're still getting used to being physical again," Gabriel said, carefully taking her weight.

 

"Oh, Gabriel, you never could take life's twists with any grace, could you?"

 

"Losing you was a little more than a 'twist', Mom." Adrien still hadn't let go, but he loosened his grip a little to look up at her. "We were lost without you."

 

"Oh, my little Adrien," Beatrice said, and stroked his hair. She pushed him away to look at him. "Though, maybe not so little anymore. Look at how much you've grown!" Her smile lit up the room, and Adrien felt that he could stay in this moment forever. Him in his mother's arms, and his father holding them both. It was how a family was supposed to be. It was how _his_ family was supposed to be.

 

"I am happy to see both of you again, of course I am, but Gabriel, I must ask- how?" Beatrice sat down on the plinth again, motioning for her son to join her. As Adrien settled down, Gabriel took to explaining what had happened, and how.

 

"It started almost a year after you... died," he said. He started pacing, thinking back to when this had all started. "Adrien didn't know, but I had... almost done something regrettable. I nearly decided to... follow, where you'd gone first."

 

Adrien's breath hitched. That was something he'd not known. He remembered his father being despondant for a while, and one day coming home a lot less so. The model mostly remembered the sudden uptick in work and the extra tutoring sessions. His father continued.

 

"It was in a back alley- I'd been heading to a clandestine meeting, looking to procur something to... aid me in my journey. Fate, however, seemed to have something else in store for me." He gestured to the butterfly brooch on his collar. "That's where I found this, and met him." He waved a hand, and Nooroo flew up to land on his knuckles.

 

Adrien was looking at his mother's face. He wasn't sure he could even look away; something in his mind whispered that this was too good to be true, that it was some cruel Akuma attack, and if he looked away, she'd vanish again. That intense scrutiny was the only thing that let him notice the slight widening of her eyes, then the artificial smoothness that followed. It was a little disconcerting, but at the moment, he couldn't bring himself to care, just leaning in and squeezing her, thrilling when she smiled down at him and ruffled his hair again. He'd forgotten the touch of her fingers on his scalp.

 

"Well hello there," Beatrice said, reaching up to rub the kwami's head. "And what's your name?"

 

"I'm Nooroo, Mme Agreste. The Butterfly Kwami," said the small god.

 

"Well, Nooroo, thank you for taking care of my Gabriel."

 

"My pleasure, madame."

 

"Of course. She's Mme Agreste, and madame. Yet no respect for me," Gabriel grumbled.

 

"I'll give you your respect when you earn it, _Gabe_."

 

"Gabe?" Beatrice squealed, utterly tickled. "I don't think I've ever heard anyone call him Gabe."

 

"And he is the only one you will hear calling me that," Gabriel scowled at the kwami. Nooroo flew up and perched himself on the man's head, causing 'Gabe's eyes to cross as he followed the kwami's flight. Beatrice giggled, but her laugh was interrupted by a grumble from her stomach. Her husband reached for her hand and pulled her to her feet. "But I can fill you in on everything else over lunch. What do you say? Antoine is making galettes."

 

Adrien pulled his father to the side once they left the attic room. "Father, do you think I could have the Ladybug Miraculous back? I want to see if I can get them back to Ladybug as quickly as I can." _If she'll see me again,_ was the unspoken worry.

 

"Do you not want to eat?" his father asked.

 

Adrien rubbed the back of his head. "I'm not really hungry right now."

 

Gabriel eyed his son. Then he sighed, and reluctantly reached into his breast pocket and handed over the stones. "Go on, then. Don't take too long. I know that a mugger probably has more to worry about than you if you get held up in an alley, but I still don't want you out after dark." He smiled, soft on a face that had too long been hard. "And I'm sure your mother would rather spend as much time with you as possible, too."

 

"I know. I'll be right back."

 

* * *

 

The first thing to do was going to be the easiest... and the hardest. Adrien held up his ring. Time to see if Plagg would talk with him. He slipped the ring on.

 

For a second, he was worried that Plagg had rejected him. But then, in a flash of magic, the tiny black cat showed up, back to the boy.

 

"Plagg?" Adrien asked quietly. No response. "Come on, buddy, don't do this to me." A twitch of a black furred ear betrayed the kwami's attention. "Look, I'm sorry I gave you up." A sidelong glance from the kwami. "And threw you across the room." This elicited a responce.

 

"You WHAT!?" The kwami spun around, green eyes wide.

 

Adrien rubbed his neck. "Heh, yeah. After I took off your ring I, uh, threw it at the wall."

 

"You childish, emotional...Xiǎozi!" He continued for a while in that way, breaking into Chinese, Japanese, and a number of other languages Adrien had never heard before, before finally heaving an enormous sigh and closing his eyes.

 

"Uh... My bad?"

 

"Kid, you're lucky you're cute, 'cause you have no clue what a bad idea that was."

 

"Throwing your ring?"

 

"What? No, not the ring! Sheesh, keep up. Giving me up! Giving me up to Papillon, especially. You had no idea what he was going to do, kid. For all we knew, he coulda been under the influence of Dark Magics, and would have Cataclysm'd you. And even though it turned out he _was_ just your father, and _was_ just interested in doing... what he did... you didn't know he was going to give me back." His ears went flat. "I didn't want to lose you."

 

Adrien scowled. "You know, you can be a real goof-up sometimes." When Plagg's features sagged even more, he relented. "But you're _my_ goof-up. I'd never let someone else have you. I'd fight to get you back, okay?" The boy held out the Ladybug Miraculous. "And that's why I'm going to get these back to Ladybug as soon as possible. If I have to wait for a week, haunting every patrol spot I can think of. Even if I have to ask my father to turn me into Chat Blanc again, so she knows I have them."

 

Plagg growled at the name Chat Blanc. "Nobody gets to make a Chat but me, kid. Come on, let's get your Ladybug back."

 

"Alright," Adrien said, pumping a fist. "Okay, first question- Do you know who Ladybug is?"

 

"Nope. Not gonna tell you," Plagg said, crossing his arms.

 

Adrien was confused. "Wait, does that mean you don't know, or that you're not gonna tell?"

 

"M-mm."

 

"Plaaagg..."

 

"Not gonna budge me, kid. This is something for you to figure out on your own."

 

"Darn. Well, how do I usually get in contact with her?" The problem, here, was that Ladybug and Chat Noir normally just sort of met up during their patrols, or during Akuma attacks... which he usually found out about through the Ladyblog! "That's it! I bet Ladybug checks the Ladyblog! I can just use my Chat Noir account, and post a message for a meetup somewhere." He moved towards his computer, only to be brought up short by a grunt from Plagg.

 

"What? Don't think it'll work?" Adrien asked.

 

"Oh, no, I'm sure she'll believe some random stranger online is her partner, who just happened to manage to get his hands on her stolen artifact earrings. And her civilian identity will be _so_ happy to meet up with said stranger in a dark, out-of-the-way alley somewhere."

 

"Okay, I get your point." Adrien sighed and plopped down on the computer chair. "Then what do I do? It's hopeless! Hopeless I tell you!" He flung an arm across his forehead, leaning back.

 

Plagg flew up, clucking like a mother hen. "You're hopeless." The kwami let out a sigh of his own. "Fine, I'll help. But only because you'd probably screw this all up without me.

 

"Okay, I'll try to guide your little meaty head through this. First, if _you_ can't get in touch with Ladybug, can you think of anyone else who CAN?"

 

Adrien rubbed his chin, thinking. Most of his classmates had had close encounters with the heroine, but nobody really had _regular_ contact except him. "Wait, Alya! She's always getting exclusive interviews with Ladybug, isn't she?"

 

"Now you're thinking," Plagg said, nodding.

 

Adrien whipped out his phone, pulling up his classmates' phone numbers. Ayla's wasn't one he normally called. Usually, his interactions with her involved Nino in some way. The phone number was from when he, in a fit of 'first day of school' enthusiasm, had gone around the entire classroom and gotten _everyone's_ numbers. He called her up.

 

"Adrien! To what do I owe the honour?" The cheer in the brunette's voice immediately brightened the boy's day. With all the everything that'd been happening, it was nice to just talk with a classmate- with a friend. Oh man, how was he going to tell his friends about what had happened!

 

"Uh, Adrien? You there? Or did you butt dial me." Right! Phone call- had to talk.

 

"Yeah! Yeah, I'm here. Sorry, just thinking," he said.

 

"Is everything alright?"

 

"Yeah, everything's fine. Great, actually. Better than great. I've got great news, but, uh... It's too great to tell you over the phone- I'll tell you in person, later. First, though- I was wondering, is there any way you could get a message to Ladybug?"

 

"Ladybug? This isn't because of your crush on her, is it?"

 

Adrien blushed, hard enough he was worried it would carry through the phone. "No! Of course not! I don't- I don't have a crush on Ladybug, what are you talking about?"

 

"Please, Adrien. Nino's told me all about it. How you go on and on about the "...sky blue color of her eyes, so easy to get lost in!" or "...how her hair blows in the breeze when she swings past". You got it bad for her."

 

"Okay, well... Maybe I do. Who wouldn't! This isn't about that, though. I really need to tell her something, something only she can hear. It's superhero business. Can you get in touch with her, or not?"

 

"Sorry, no can do."

 

"But what about all those interviews you get with her?"

 

"That's not me. I can tell you who _does_ set those up, though."

 

"Come on then, spill!"

 

"Marinette."

 

Adrien paused. "Marinette? Are you sure?"

 

"Yep!" The girl on the other side of the phone sounded positively triumphant. "Girl's got an in with the Lady in Red. You have her number, or should I text it to you?"

 

"No, I have it. Thanks, though." With that, he hung up. Marinette knew how to contact Ladybug? She wasn't the classmate he'd have expected, for certain. But he did have her number, and it was important he contact the superheroine as soon as possible. He made the call.

 

The phone rang for a long time. Longer than was usual, and he considered hanging up and just texting- but this was too important to leave to text. It must have been a whole minute before the cell picked up, and a sleepy voice said "Hello?"

 

"Marinette, hello!" Adrien said.

 

"Who is this?" Apparently she'd picked up without looking at the screen.

 

"It's Adrien. Hey, can I ask you something?"

 

Silence. The blonde waited for a couple seconds before he continued.

 

"Uh, so... I talked to Alya, and she said you knew how to get in touch with Ladybug. Is that right? 'cause I really, really need to talk to her, like, as soon as possible. I, uh... I have something of hers, and I need to get it back."

 

More silence. Adrien thought he heard a muffled sob on the other end, but other than that... He checked his screen- still connected, she hadn't hung up. "Marinette? Are you there? Hello?"

 

"I'll let her know." The reply was terse.

 

"Um. Okay then. Tell her to meet me at the Trocadero Gardens. I'll be there until she shows up."

 

" _*click*_ "Adrien pulled back from the phone.

 

"Gee. I hope Marinette's feeling okay. That was weird," he said to Plagg.

 

"Yeah, weird," the cat kwami agreed, voice flat.

 

"I guess we'd better get going, then. Don't want Ladybug to beat us there." Adrien smiled at his kwami. "I'll see if the chef can pack us a little picnic- I'm sure we have more Camembert around."

 


	8. Chapter 8

Marinette sat on the edge of her bed, staring down at her phone. The device was held loosely in her hands, darkened screen reflecting her face. She felt numb.

 

What was he doing? Adrien wanted to see Ladybug? For what? She didn't have anything left to take. Chat Blanc had already won, Papillon had already won. She'd stayed up half the night, stewing in worry, waiting for a kwami-wrapped hand to crush the city into servitude before falling into a fitful sleep. And now Adrien- Chat Blanc- _Papillon's Akuma_ \- wanted to "talk" with her? What was his game? He and his father were planning something, trying to bring her lower for their own sick pleasure before completing their plans.

 

She wouldn't go. She'd leave Adrien sitting there at Trocadero all night. She'd just... stay... in her room. Alone. No Alya- her friend didn't know what had happened, the would-be reporter would probably just tell Adrien.

 

Tell him what? That Marinette was staying home? How would that matter to Ladybug showing up or not?

 

It was all so confusing, so exhausting. She didn't have any friends. Her parents might as well be strangers. Even Master Fu didn't seem to care about her losing the Miraculous. She was just a clumsy, luckless child playing at being a superhero.

 

A tear splashed against the dark screen of her cell phone, and Marinette realized how full her eyes had gotten. She sniffed, wiping her nose with the back of her nightie's sleeve and blinking away the tears.

 

But then her eye caught on a scrap of ladybug patterned fabric hanging out of her sewing basket. She'd been working on making Tikki a little cloak to wear around, something to keep her warm when the weather started cooling down.

 

"Tikki..." Marinette pushed herself up. She walked over and picked up the scrap of cloth.

 

She did have a friend. A friend that was probably terrified. A tiny kwami doing her best to stand up to whatever tortures Papillon would inflict. And Adrien could help get her back.

 

Her gaze hardened. She'd get her friend back.

 

"Don't worry Tikki. I'm coming."

 

 

 

 

The problem, Marinette decided, was how to meet up with Adrien, as Ladybug, without him knowing it was her. Darkness would help if she waited for night, but Trocadero was well lit for the tourists. And those same tourists meant that real privacy probably wouldn't happen. About the only way for Ladybug to show up... was for Ladybug to show up. In costume. Which she didn't have.

 

The seamstress knew she could make a Ladybug costume- she'd certainly considered it before, but it had just seemed silly, when she had the real thing anytime she wanted. It seemed less silly now, of course. She could still make one, but it would take at least 3 days. She was upset with Adrien, but she still didn't want him waiting in a park for 3 days. And he probably would. If he said he'd wait until Ladybug showed up, she believed him.

 

Which meant she had to find a good Ladybug costume, that fit, within the next, say, 20 minutes or so.

 

The good news was, she knew a classmate that had a high-quality Ladybug costume. The better news was, that classmate happened to share her measurements. The bad, horrible, terrible, end-of-the-world news- That classmate was Chloe Bourgeois. The blonde, dreadful airhead had been doing her best to make Marinette's life a living hell for over a year now.

 

It wasn't like Chloe wouldn't jump to help Ladybug, but Marinette was loath to ask the girl for anything, as anyone. On her best days, Chloe was insufferable. But usually she was worse- a complete wannabe Queen, belittling everyone, even her best friend, and never... just... UGH!

 

Marinette groaned in frustration. Chloe had to be one of her _least_ favorite people, like, ever. And she knew the feeling was reciprocated. So no asking as herself. And she couldn't use her own phone, or her home phone, or the phone of anyone she knew- she wasn't going to make it _that_ easy to identify her.

 

Marinette went to her closet and picked out an outfit for the day. She found herself grumbling to herself the whole time, and more than once went to say something to Tikki, only to remember why she was doing even considering this ridiculous idea in the first place.

 

She tripped going down the stairs, but managed to catch herself at the bottom. "Maman, Papa, I'm going out!" she said, snagging a croissant from a tray in the home kitchen.

 

"Oh! Marinette! Okay sweety," her mother said. She poked her head around the doorframe of the bakery. "Are you feeling better, then?"

 

"Yeah, thanks," Marinette replied. "I'm going out to meet some of my classmates."

 

"Well have fun. Let us know if you need picked up."

 

Marinette nodded, then headed out the door. Time to steal another cellphone.

 

 

 

Maybe 'steal' was the wrong word, Marinette thought to herself. She just needed to borrow a complete stranger's phone for a short call. It wasn't her fault that most of the cellphones she borrowed ended up lost or damaged. And that thing with Lady Wifi totally didn't count! That was an Akuma attack, and besides, her Miraculous Ladybug spell had repaired them all anyways.

 

Still. She needed a phone with no connection to her civilian identity, and the best way to do that was to leverage her natural advantages as Marinette. She was a klutz, but she was an _adorable_ klutz.

 

Down the street, around the corner, past the local walled park and into one of the little fountain squares where the tourists gathered to take pictures and eat street-food. There- a group of Americans, all decked out in flannel and cargo shorts. She walked up to them.

 

"Bonjour! Puis-je emprunter votre téléphone portable?" At the blank stares (perfect!), she switched to English. "Pardon. May I, uh, you're telephone use?"

 

The patriarch of the group smiled, wide and friendly. "Why, sure thing, missy. Go ahead!" He pulled his phone out and handed it over. Marinette quickly punched in Chloe's number, and waited while the phone rang.

 

"Yes? Hello? Who is this?" True to form, the blonde's voice was irritated. Marinette scowled, but she had to do this.

 

She put on her Ladybug voice, full of a confidence she didn't really feel right now. But she'd do something extremely unpleasant before letting Chloe hear that. "Chloe Bourgeois? This is Ladybug. I need a favour," she said, in rapid Parisian French. As expected, once they realized they couldn't understand her, the tourists stopped paying her any attention at all, going back to tossing frites at the pigeons and taking pictures of the fountain.

 

"EEEEEE!" Marinette held the phone away from her ear until the screeching died down. "Ladybug, you have my number! Oh, of course I can help you! What do you need, I can get you _anything_."

 

"That's good to hear. This will sound strange, but do you still have that Ladybug costume?"

 

"Of course! Like I'd get rid of it. Like, no way I'd part with that." Her voice went low and conspiratorial. "What do you need it for? Do you need me to play body-double? Passing the mantle? I can give you an alibi if you need to protect your secret identity if you want..."

 

Marinette considered that. A body-double... actually wasn't a terrible idea, even if it came from Chloe. "I might need you to do that later, but right now, I just need to borrow the costume."

 

"No problem, LB," Chloe said. "Where do you want to meet?" she whispered. Marinette looked around, trying to think of a good place to make the exchange.

 

"Meet me under the Pont Alexandre III, on the South bank of the Seine. I'll be in my civilian clothes, so I'll find you."

 

Chloe squealed again. "Oh, this is so exciting! I'll be there in 10 minutes. See you there!"

 

"Remember, secret identities. If everything goes right, you won't see me at all."

 

"Right, right. Well, 10 minutes! Ta ta!" Marinette could hear her erstwhile helper fangirling away as she hung up. This was so weird. Every time she interacted with Chloe as Ladybug was strange- her mortal enemy being such a habitué of her alternate persona was strange enough, but then, everyone seemed to love Ladybug, so it wasn't that strange. But to get the same reaction when she was 'out of spots' was just bizarre.

 

She handed the phone back to the man she'd borrowed it from. "Merci, monsieur," she said with a little curtsy. "Thank you very much." The man chuckled, waving it off, before wishing her a good day and turning back to his family.

 

Marinette took off to the Pont Alexandre III. She needed to get in position before Chloe got there, so that she'd be the one controlling where they met.

 

On her way to the bridge, Marinette pulled out her hair ties, letting her hair fall out of its usual pigtails and cascade over her shoulders. She also bought a pair of cheap sunglasses from a vendor along the Seine, and a baseball cap with "I <3 Paris" on it. Hopefully the combination of head coverings and different hair would keep Chloe from recognizing her if she did catch a glimpse. She set herself back behind the bridge supports and settled down to wait. Before too long, she saw Chloe. Marinette facepalmed, then peeked out from between her fingers.

 

The girl was being inconspicuous in about the most conspicuous way possible. The blonde was wearing an ankle-length designer trenchcoat, had her hair tied back into a tight bun, and was wearing a pair of enormous mirrored sunglasses. She looked like she'd stepped out of a spy movie. A bad spy movie. Oh god, she was even looking around like she was being sneaky, just drawing more attention to herself. It was a good thing the brown paper package she carried was obviously cloth, or Marinette was sure the Gendarme would have been after her.

 

As the trenchcoat'd girl drew nearer, Marinette let out a "Pssst!". Chloe beamed, and hurried over to the supports the black-haired girl was hidden behind.

 

"That's close enough!" she said in her Ladybug voice. Chloe stopped, just shy of being close enough to see her.

 

"I got 'The Goods', Ell-Bee," Chloe said. The conspiratorial whisper was back. Marinette felt herself blushing with embarrassment. This was ridiculous. When had her life become a farce, she wondered?

 

"Thank you, uh, 'Cee-Bee'," she replied. "You can put 'The Package' down there. I'll get it once you go."

 

"No problem Ell-Bee," Chloe said. She put the package down, thankfully on a dry spot. "So when will I be getting this back? My daddy paid good money for this costume, you know."

 

"If everything goes well, I'll have it back to you by tomorrow night at the latest." Marinette felt a little bad, sort of taking advantage of Chloe this way. The feeling was quickly banished, though, when she remembered just who she was talking to.

 

Chloe wasn't going away. The girl toed the ground a little, arms behind her back. "Are you sure I can't find out who you are?" she asked, looking at the ground. "You can trust me, you know. I wouldn't tell anyone."

 

It was weird, it really was. Marinette felt, in that moment, that she really could have trusted Chloe Bourgeois. But nobody could know. This whole situation was because she couldn't even tell her partner who she was. She had to decline. "I'm sorry, Chloe. I wish I could. But I can't. It's really, really important that nobody knows who Chat or I are." Chloe looked crestfallen, and Marinette felt terrible again. "I'll tell you what, though. When I return your costume, I'll hang out with you for a while. Selfies, girltalk, the whole shebang. Okay?"

 

Chloe's whole face lit up. "Yeah! Oh, this is going to be amazing. I'll have Pierre get a whole spread set up and everything. Ooo, it's going to be so fun! See you then, Ell-Bee!" With that, the blonde flounced off, abandoning any pretense of being sneaky. Marinette shook her head at the behavior. She was probably going to regret that. For now, though, she had herself a costume.

 

One quick trip to a public water closet, and Marinette was once again wearing the spots. It was lucky that Ladybug was so popular. It wasn't entirely unheard of for people to wear costumes of the heroine, so nobody batted an eye when a girl walked up the stairs in red and black.

 

She got a few glances from the more jaded Parisians, and some enthusiastic propositions for photo-ops. She ignored the glances, used to them, and politely declined the photos. Marinette, though- or rather, Ladybug- had never spent so much time... mingling, for lack of a better word. She amassed a small train of curious people on her way to Trocadero. Hopefully Adrien wouldn't mind. Or he'd be willing to try and lose the crowd with her. Some of them had split off by the time she got to the park, and the rest were keeping a respectful distance. It seemed like they recognized the 'real deal', even without Kwami magic providing the costume. The thought gave Marinette a little more confidence, and so she found herself striding right up to the boy with the mop of artfully disheveled blonde hair, instead of trying to keep herself out of his line-of-sight during the encounter.

 

Adrien couldn't help it. He gaped. Ladybug was here. In costume. _Ladybug was here in costume!_ He couldn't believe it. And so he gaped. Ladybug wasn't supposed to have her costume anymore. He'd taken her Miraculous! Unless she didn't need her Miraculous to transform, which was just way unfair.

 

"Ladybug! You're, uh, you're dressed!" As soon as he said it, Adrien wanted to dig himself a hole and crawl in, like the blush that was now crawling its way up his face. "That didn't come out how it was supposed to." Fortunately for his skin's hue, she didn't take the obvious opening.

 

Instead, she went for a different one. "So you just wanted to see me in my Civvies, then?" she said coyly. "Why Mr. Agreste, I didn't know you were a fan." Her brows lowered, and her expression went hostile. "Or are you working for Papillon, now?"

 

"I- ye-no, I mean..." The mood whiplash caught Adrien off guard, and he backed up a step, bumping into the edge of a fountain. "Look, Ladybug, I know you lost your-" realizing they were in a _very_ public place, Adrien lowered his voice and leaned in, so only Ladybug could hear. "I know you lost your Miraculous, and I know you know why I know." He slumped, frowning. "I shouldn't have done that to you." He reached into his jacket pocket, not noticing how she tensed up. "That's why I brought them back to you."

 

Ladybug gasped a little when he showed her what was in his hand. Two tiny black cabochons with studs on the back for her ears. She looked up at him, then down at his hand. "How?" she asked.

 

"Papillon is done. My mother, she's alive again. Now, my father doesn't have any need of these. I thought you'd want them back." Adrien offered the stones to her. "Here. Take them. They're yours. They always will be."

 

His explanations might as well have fallen on deaf ears. Slowly, gently, Ladybug reached out. She didn't even notice how Adrien gulped as her fingers brushed across his palm, taking the earrings from him. She cradled them in her hands for a moment, then looked up. "Thank you," she said. It was all she could say. She just hoped it would be enough. Adrien was startled to see tears in her eyes.

 

"I'll just... leave you alone, then," he said. He turned to leave. "See you around, Ladybug."

 

* * *

 

It was about 19:30 when Adrien walked up the stairs to his front door. For the first time in a long time, he found himself enthusiastic about coming home. He gripped the doorknob, then frowned when it didn't budge. It wasn't too odd that his parents might want a little extra security from random callers, but he hadn't taken his keys with him. And Natalie had been sent home, again, for privacy.

 

"Hey Plagg, do you figure you could...?" Adrien asked, pulling his kwami out from his shirt pocket. The black cat yawned at him, blinking slowly.

 

"Yeah yeah, sure sure." The kwami floated off his hand and phased through the lock of the door. Adrien heard a click, and tried the knob again. It opened.

 

"Thanks, buddy." In response, Plagg just yawned again, and flew back into the boy's pocket. "Hello? Anyone home still?" Adrien walked in to the foyer, closing the door behind him and re-locking it. The light was out in his father's office, and in the parlor. He wouldn't even bother checking the kitchen. His father never went in there, and his mother, according to Antoine, could 'burn a salad'.

 

His stomach grumbled.

 

"On second thought, let's get a snack."

 

The kitchen was dark, as expected. Antoine was dismissed for the day as well, but before he'd gone, the chef had made sure the kitchen was well stocked with cold cuts and pastries. And, of course, Camembert.

 

It was like watching a magnet and a piece of steel- the stinky cheese came out of the refrigerator, and a tiny black nose started sniffling from Adrien's pocket. The cardboard hit the counter-top, and Plagg floated out, drawn towards the dairy, picking up speed until his tiny, furry body impacted the container and miniature claws shredded the cardboard cylinder.

 

Adrien laughed at his friend's antics, but he couldn't blame the tiny god for his hunger. He himself was feeling ravenous, and quickly made a plate of turkey, croissants and some less fragrant cheeses to snack on.

 

The boy wondered where his parents were. That was one of the many drawbacks to living in a large house- you could never find people easily. He paused, a piece of turkey dangling from his mouth, when he heard a thump from above. Then another. Then a scraping noise. Well, that answered the question of where they were, but raised the question of just what they were doing. Finishing the turkey, he wandered over to the intercom on the wall, and pressed the button for his father's room.

 

"Hey Dad, Mom, I'm home!" he called into the speaker. The sounds from above abruptly stopped. The intercom was silent for a moment, and then he heard his mother's voice speak across it.

 

"Your father and I will be down in a moment, Adrien." The boy shrugged and kept eating. Didn't really matter too much to him.

 

That... changed, when his mother came through the kitchen door, his father behind her, and he noticed their disheveled clothes and mussed hair. And his father's annoyed look. And he remembered that they were a married couple. Who loved each other passionately. Who had been separated for a long time. Who had been in their own bedroom. While the house was empty.

 

The blush would have burst into flame if Beatrice hadn't, at that moment, noticed Plagg on the counter, busily going through his third container of Camembert. A thousand explanations poured through Adrien's head as his mother made a beeline towards the kwami- miniature cat breed, Chinese Birder to keep the feathers down... Fancy Rat bred to look like a cat... hallucination due to resurrection... But the boy was floored by his mother's actual response.

 

"Oooh, aren't you just the most _adorable_ little kwami! Duusu will be so happy with _two_ new friends!" Plagg, for his part, simply rolled onto his back, presenting his tummy for rubs which Beatrice happily supplied. "I know that you found Nooroo, but I never imagined Adrien would have found this little darling. You two must have had so much fun learning about your Kwami together!"

 

Adrien looked at his father, floored. Gabriel just smirked back with a somewhat vindictive look on his face. Adrien, when he realized what his father was going to say, shook his head, mouthing 'no', but Gabriel's wicked smile just grew before he addressed his wife.

 

"As a matter of fact, Adrien never told me about Plagg. He's been hiding his activities as a Miraculous wielder from me since the day he received his stone. Lying, sneaking out. Our son has been quite the little hellion while you were away," he said as Beatrice cooed over the Black Cat.

 

"Gabriel," she said without turning around or interrupting Plagg's scritches," Adrien is a 14 year old boy. I'd be more worried if you'd told me he was perfectly behaved. And besides," she continued, this time turning to throw a raised eyebrow at her husband, "I am _certain_ that you pushed him into at least half of those indiscretions. Why, I imagine you'd have every minute of his day scheduled out, and every calorie counted, if you could." Gabriel laughed nervously at his wife's scorn, putting a hand behind his head. Adrien just grinned smugly at him, kwami troubles momentarily forgotten. His grin ran away and hid when his mother turned that eyebrow on him.

 

"And don't think that you will go without some sort of punishment for what I am sure you put your father through. Or did you forget? There were to be no lies in this house!"

 

"But Mom! Dad didn't tell _me_ the truth either!" Adrien whined.

 

"No 'buts'. Your father will be dealt with in time."

 

Gabriel couldn't help himself, and had to speak up. "It would not have been such an issue had Adrien not insisted on _fighting_ my Champions every time I sent them out."

 

"Champions!?" Adrien spluttered. "Those were Akuma! I was the first real Champion you made, you said so yourself!"

 

"Well I didn't know the difference!"

 

"You were a _supervillain_!"

 

"I was the only one who knew what was going on!"

 

Beatrice and Plagg sat back, one leaning against the counter, one leaning against an empty Camembert box, watching the two men in their lives... bicker. And fight. Lots of arm waving, striding angrily across the the kitchen. Pushing up against each other, yelling directly in faces. At one point, Adrien stalked out of the kitchen altogether, and Beatrice thought it was over, but then her son stuck his head back into the room and the whole yelling match started again. At some point, Nooroo fluttered in and sat himself down on the counter next to Plagg, an enormous grin threatening to split his bulbous little head in two.

 

"Well, this sounds like it has been brewing for quite some time," Beatrice said to the kwami beside her.

 

"Yeah, the Kid's been chafing under his old man's thumb for a while now," Plagg replied. "I'm surprised he didn't blow up sooner. I tried to give him an outlet, but apparently it wasn't enough. Kid's got a tight grip on his emotions."

 

"Well _I_ think it's wonderful that the two of them are having such an impassioned heart-to-heart!" Nooroo trilled. He turned to Mme Agreste. "I certainly hope that with you here, they continue to embrace their emotions to heartily." Beatrice's face fell, and she looked haunted by melancholy for a moment before brightening up again.

 

"Well, since they seem well distracted, I would so love to see Duusu again. Plagg, was it? Could you show me where Gabriel is keeping her?"

 

Plagg scowled. "I didn't even know this crybaby was in the mansion until a week ago," he said, annoyed. "You think I know where he keeps his spare Miraculous stones?"

 

"Oh, Plagg, you wound me!" Nooroo twirled up and bowed in front of Beatrice's nose. "Mme Agreste, I would gladly guide you to you partner."

 

"Thank you, Nooroo. That would be lovely." She looked back at her husband and son, now sulking with their backs to each other, lips jutting defiantly. She shook her head and sighed before pushing off the counter. "Lead the way."

 

 

 

Walking into Gabriel's office was like walking back in time for Beatrice. She could picture him sitting behind his desk, diligently working out the lineup for his next show. It was where he'd last seen her, when she'd told him that she'd be right back. The sun setting outside the windows set the sky ablaze, reminding her of that fateful night. She'd pecked his cheek and whispered her love in his ear. He'd smiled, kissed her, and turned back to his work. And that night, she'd died. Destroyed completely, without even a body left. She wished she could have been there for her family in their grief. But of course, that would have been quite the paradox. And the Universe abhorred paradox.

 

Kwami were, perhaps, exceptions to that rule, Beatrice mused, watching Nooroo as he pulled back the painting of her behind Gabriel's desk, revealing the wall safe. A clichéd location for a safe, but Gabriel always did have a flair for the dramatic. Nooroo hummed happily as he worked the dial, massive compared to his tiny body, and pulled the safe door open.

 

It was emptier than she remembered. It used to be filled with ledgers and sketches, but now it held little more than a few scrolls, a Tibet guidebook (of all things), a small picture of her, and...

 

Beatrice gasped and teared up, reaching out with trembling hands. She cupped the tiny, blue jeweled brooch, shaped like a peacock's fan, to her breast, and gave a light sob. Plagg and Nooroo looked on as she pinned the brooch to her breast, and there was a flash of brilliant blue light.

 

The light died to reveal Beatrice clutching a blue kwami with a flowing, feathered tail and three plumes in a crest. She held its miniature form to her face, not caring that her tears were getting it wet.

 

"Duusu, oh, I missed you so much, Duusu," Beatrice sobbed. The kwami rubbed its head against her cheek.

 

"I've missed you too, Beatrice. But tell me, how are you here? You died!" the little peahen cried.

 

"For that, you can thank Gabriel. He conspired with Nooroo here to do something that brought me back."

 

"Nooroo? But what would the Butterfly be doing here?" Duusu looked around, for the first time noticing the other kwami in the room with them. "Nooroo! And Plagg! I didn't know you were active."

 

"It's been a while, hasn't it, Duusu," Plagg said, flying up to the peahen. Duusu wiggled out of Beatrice's hands to nuzzle the black cat. Nooroo flew up to join them, and they started gabbling in a language that Beatrice had never heard before. She lovingly stroked the peacock brooch. She'd missed its weight.

 

Such was the tableau when Gabriel entered the room. Adrien followed after, both men looking sheepish. The elder Agreste moved immediately to grasp his wife, causing the younger to blush as he once again recalled what he'd interrupted. Beatrice gladly returned the hug, giving him a squeeze and a chaste kiss before heading over to ruffle her son's hair.

 

"I take it you and Adrien are done looking at each other like you are stone dogs?" she said. Adrien had the grace to look sheepish. Gabriel just looked dour. He moved to put an arm back around his wife's shoulders, and she leaned into the embrace.

 

The family adjourned to the parlor. The kwami drifted after them, seeming to not pay any attention. They just continued talking amongst themselves, occasionally glancing at their respective wielders. This went unnoticed by the humans, who were involved in their own conversations.

 

Adrien and Gabriel did most of the talking. They explained about the Superhero/Supervillain situation. How Papillon had shown up with Stoneheart, delivering his ultimatum via giant head-of-butterflies.

 

"I was, perhaps, a little drunk on the new power..."

 

They explained how Chat Noir and Ladybug had fought him at every turn,

 

"Seriously, Mr. Pidgeon was one of the worst. You wouldn't think it from the name, but that bird-brain was _dangerous_."

 

-until Adrien's secret was revealed and Papillon managed to 'turn' him. Adrien extracted promises from both of them that they wouldn't tell Ladybug his identity.

 

"-of course, if it were up to me, we'd have told each other on the very first day. But she's adamant, and I won't be the one to go against My Lady's wishes."

 

The discussion then turned to more domestic concerns. Photo shoots and Adrien's modeling career. His education.

 

"-and so I ran away to public school."

 

"There is a question that has been weighing heavily on my mind," Gabriel said after a while. By now, the Kwami had finished their conversation, and each found themselves back with their respective human. Gabriel was absentmindedly rubbing Nooroo's head as he spoke. "I have never been a religious man, but you said... continue to say that you 'missed us'. And I _found_ you, with the Butterfly. There was a specific place that you were." He looked at his wife. "What did you experience, when you were dead?"

 

"I am afraid it is not going to be a satisfying answer," was Beatrice's response. Her face was wan, drawn with aged grief. "I felt... loss. Loneliness. I missed you, oh I missed you both so much. And I knew that time was passing, though it was not important at the moment. For most of that time, there were no sensations that I can recall. But..." she paused, looking down at her lap. "When Gabriel's butterfly came for me, to guide me home. There was something else there. A presence, an anger- no," she shook her head. "Anger is too strong a word. Rather, a displeasure. I do not think I should have gone with you, Gabriel." Her hands clutched, nails digging into her palms. "I think, that I will not be allowed to stay."

 

A crack of thunder shook the windows. Everyone in the room jumped at the sound. Adrien started laughing. The sound broke the tension his mother's dire words had built. He stood up and went to the window. Pushing the drapes aside, the family could see that storm clouds had rolled in, and they watched as dry lightning streaked across the clouds before thunder rolled over them again.

 

"Strange," Gabriel said. "The weather report said there would be clear skies tonight."

 

"Can't always predict the weather, can you?" Adrien glibly replied.

 

"I hope it is that innocent," said Beatrice.

 


	9. Chapter 9

"Oooh! That, that _BOY_! Tikki, he drives me crazy sometimes!" Marinette stomped in a circle around her room. In the middle of her path was a pink ottoman. On that ottoman was a plate, on the plate were cookies, and on those cookies (which were rapidly disappearing) was one red kwami with black spots. She shook her head at her human's frustration.

 

"I thought I explained it pretty well," Tikki said. "Adrien's reasons were good, if a little selfish. Even Papillon turned out to not be as evil as we thought." She scarfed down another macaron. "Everyone makes mistakes, even kwami. It's part of life."

 

"It's not about whether or not he's right. His mom's come back to life, that's great! It's just, it's just... UGH!"

 

"You're worried about him," Tikki said.

 

"I'm worried about him!" Marinette agreed, throwing up her hands. "He's beautiful, and I guess as Chat Blanc he's very, very powerful, but he's just too nice for his own good." The girl looked at her kwami, eyes worried. "How do we know that Papillon isn't still manipulating him, or that he's done doing super... villainy... stuff."

 

"Well..." Tikki said, casting an aside glance at the brunette, "why don't you go check up on them, then? Make sure Adrien is safe?"

 

Marinette blushed, ducking her head into her shoulders. "I.. I mean, if you think that would be a good idea..."

 

Tikki stood up on the now empty plate and nodded. "I'm all charged up and ready. And remember, give Gabriel a chance."

 

Marinette nodded. "Alright, Tikki." She was just about to say the transformation phrase, but then her eye fell on the Ladybug costume laying on her bed. "Actually, hold that thought," she said. The girl plucked the fancy fabric up, looking at it. She got a glint in her eye.

 

"Oh no, you wouldn't," Tikki playfully admonished. The kwami knew exactly what her bearer was thinking. Marinette wouldn't be the first to do so.

 

"Oh I would," Marinette replied, grinning.

 

* * *

 

A couple minutes later... "Alright, I think that will do it," Marinette said. "Spots On!" Red light flashed, and soon she was encased in a comforting skin of kwami-stuff, wearing the guise of Ladybug, Heroine of Paris!

 

She climbed out through the skylight, making sure to close it against the storm clouds that were rolling in. With a flick of her wrist, she flung her yo-yo and swung off towards Agreste Mansion. Ladybug exalted in the feel of the wind and the cool night air as she swung and leaped through the city. She'd worried that she would never get to feel this again. Looking down to take in the view, she saw something that made her pause.

 

She landed on a chimney, holding on with one hand. She searched for what she had seen. There. A horse-drawn coach, black as coal and looking like something from the Belle Époque- spoked wooden wheels and lanterns swinging from the corners. What had caught her eye, though, was how the traffic seemed to flow around it, cars making room and sometimes even stopping to let it go past at intersections- something almost unheard of in the usually wild Parisian streets. Her eyes followed its path, and she noted with some alarm that it seemed to be headed to the same destination as she- Agreste Mansion.

 

"What's going on?" she asked the night. Whatever it was, it didn't feel good. She threw out her yo-yo again, speeding up. She had to get to Adrien's before that coach.

 

Landing on the front steps of the mansion, Ladybug looked around. The coach was nowhere to be seen. Whether that was because it wasn't coming, or because she just beat it there, the heroine was relieved. She knocked on the door.

 

It was only a few moments before the portal swung open. Ladybug found herself face-to-face with a tall blonde woman in a flattering if casual blouse-and-pants ensemble.

 

"Oh, hello! You must be the Ladybug. Mon cœurs have told me so much about you. Please, please, come in!" Bemused, Ladybug followed the woman inside. "Adrien and his father are in the parlor. We have been... catching up."

 

"You must be Madame Agreste," Ladybug said. Mme Agreste smiled and nodded. "Your son looks very much like you."

 

The woman's smile brightened. "I take it, then, that you are a fan of little Adrien?" She could not have chosen a worse time to say that, for it was right then when they came through the door. Ladybug felt like her face was aflame. The blush only got worse when she saw Adrien himself sit up and turn to face her, hand on his shirt breast. He shot out of his chair when he saw who it was.

 

"Ladybug!" he cried. He almost tripped on an ottoman in his haste to come towards the two ladies. "Ladybug, uh, hi!" he said again. "This is my mom. Mom, this is Ladyhero, the Bug we were telling you about." The rest of them laughed a little. Ladybug was stunned to see M Agreste chuckling along with his wife and son. She'd never seen his face so open. Adrien's eyes went wide, and Ladybug watched as the model's own blush crept up his face. Somehow, seeing her crush embarrassed worked to calm her down, and she remembered that _she_ was the famous Superhero in this situation.

 

"So then, Ladybug, what brings you to my- our home?" Though, there was also a famous Supervillain in the room.

 

Ladybug narrowed her eyes at the designer. "I was coming to check up on Adrien." Her expression morphed into a full-on glare. "Akumatization tends to leave the victim confused. I wanted to make sure nobody tried to take advantage of him." Gabriel scowled. Before it could escalate, however, Mme Agreste stepped in.

 

"Please, Ladybug, have a seat," she said, patting a low chair. "I apologize for my son's lack of manners. You have him flustered, I'm afraid. And my husband should not antagonize you anymore."

 

"Mama!" Adrien objected, his father crying "Beatrice!" at the same time.

 

She smirked at them, flicking her fingers as though brushing off dust. "I am just calling a cat, a cat," she said. Adrien tensed a little, though Ladybug didn't notice. Beatrice looked back to Ladybug, now sitting on the edge of a chair. "There is no need to dance around the subject, Mm Heroine. I know of Gabriel's activities as Le Papillon." One fine-fingered hand gestured to herself. "I am the product of those very activities, after all."

 

"And Adrien was never Akumatized," Gabriel added, grumpily. "There was no coercion involved, then or now." He crossed his arms. "I think you're just turned that my son was able to outmatch you."

 

"I'm sorry about that, by the way," Adrien interjected. "If there was any other way, I would have taken it. I didn't want to hurt you, ever."

 

And just when her blush was gone, Ladybug thought to herself. She had to get out of here, before she did something she'd regret. But first...

 

"Before I leave," she started, smiling lightly at Adrien's dejected expression, "I want to tell you something." She glanced at Gabriel. "Take it as an offering of good faith."

 

"On my way here, I saw something strange. At first, I thought it was another Akuma, but since M Agreste isn't transformed, and, I imagine, hasn't been for most of the day, it's clearly something else." She gestured out the window. "I saw a black coach drawn by four black horses. It looked like it was headed this way, and traffic was parting for it. It was clearly something magical at work." Both Gabriel and Adrien looked puzzled at the news. Neither of them had ever heard of such a thing.

 

"I can see where you would think it was my doing," Gabriel said. "It certainly sounds like something an Akuma might bestow; the creation of a disgruntled cabby, perhaps."

 

"And I only know as much as y- any average Parisian teen who only just got dragged into all this would know."

 

Gabriel turned to his wife. "Ma cocotte, have you-" he trailed off.

 

Beatrice had gone still, eyes wide with fright. She stood, abruptly. "I have to leave. I have to go!" She looked to the door.

 

"Beatrice?"

 

"Mom?"

 

"Mme Agreste?" Ladybug was the one who pushed through and finished the thought they were all thinking. "What is it? What's wrong?" She pulled her yo-yo from her hip, letting it hang. "If you feel you're in danger for some reason, I'm sure I could protect you. It's what I do."

 

By now, Gabriel had risen to his feet and wrapped his wife in his arms, standing behind her with his chin on her head. She hardly seemed to notice, eyes darting around.

 

"You don't understand, I shouldn't be here-" she went silent when the doorbell rang. She stared at where the front door was through the wall. She seemed to be steeling herself, then the fear drained from her frame, replaced with a sort of steely resignation. She slipped out of her husband's arms, but kept hold of his hand, and they left the parlor together to answer the door.

 

Adrien and Ladybug looked at each other.

 

"So, uh..." Adrien said, scratching his neck.

 

"Yeah, um..." Ladybug replied.

 

"Maybe it's just a door-to-door salesman?" Adrien quipped. Ladybug was nonplussed. A couple seconds passed, with the tension building. Finally, Adrien pushed himself to his feet.

 

"I, uh, forgot something in my room. I'll be right back," the boy said. Even if this weren't an Akuma, it was still something that Chat Noir should be around for. He turned on his heel and made it to the door before he realized Ladybug was right by his side.

 

"Nuh-uh. Something weird is going on, and I'm not leaving your side until it's over," she said, laying a hand on his arm. It lingered for a moment before both of them realized what she'd done, and she withdrew it. Both were too preoccupied with their own thoughts to notice the other's blush. Stuck in his statement, Adrien eased open the door.

 

His parents were standing by the front door, whispering violently at each other. They were too preoccupied to notice Adrien and Ladybug, even when their son 'eeped'. Ladybug had decided that sneaking would be too slow. She'd grabbed Adrien around the waist with one arm, using her yo-yo in the other hand to grapple them both up to the balcony and around the corner.

 

Meanwhile, Gabriel and Beatrice were having a... disagreement... about whether or not to open the door to the shadowy figure on the other side.

 

"This is something having to do with me, Gabriel," she said. "What you did... though I appreciate the gesture- you know I do, my love-" she assured, at her husband's put-out look, "and I am glad of the chance to see you and Adrien again..."

 

"Ma Cocotte..."

 

"Gabriel, I am supposed to be dead."

 

"No," Gabriel objected. "No, Beatrice. I refuse to believe that. Come back into the parlor, spend the rest of the night catching up with your son. Whoever it is at the door, they will leave us alone soon enough."

 

Beatrice took both her husband's hands in hers. "Something tells me that will not work." She smiled sadly up at him. "This shadow will not leave us, you know that."

 

"It's not a shadow. It's a man," Gabriel returned, frowning. "Probably just, just a salesman, or perhaps our son ordered a pizza earlier..." Beatrice put a finger on his lips, silencing him. She pulled him down for a slow, lingering kiss. Her hand reached out while she pulled away, and unlatched the door. Her heart was breaking under his gaze, but she knew this had to be done. Taking a deep breath, and hearing her husband do the same next to her, she opened the door.

 

On the other side of the portal stood a man, garbed in black robes, with a black, wide-brimmed hat upon his hairless head. His age was difficult to determine, but his eyes were old and weary- despite this, he showed no sign of being perturbed at being left waiting for so long. On the street behind him stood the black coach that Ladybug had described, complete with 4 coal-black horses standing unnaturally still. His eyes flicked to Gabriel before focusing on Beatrice.

 

"Good evening," he said, in a smooth baritone. "Beatrice Agreste, I have some business with you."

 

Beatrice gulped, the brave f acade she had built starting to crack. "Yes, that is me, I'm Beatrice, yes," she said. She realized she was babbling, and closed her mouth with a snap. Gabriel squeezed her hand, and she took another calming breath. "Would you like to come in, Monsieur?"

 

"That would be delightful, Madame."

 

The three of them removed, not to the parlor, but to Gabriel's office. It was there, under the painted gaze of Beatrice's portrait, that they sat- Mme Agreste and the stranger in chairs before the desk, Gabriel in his chair behind like a general in his war-room. He steepled his fingers. The designer hadn't taken his eyes from the stranger since he'd come through the door.

 

"I would offer you refreshments, but I am afraid that I have nothing on hand for callers at this late hour," M Agreste said.

 

The stranger seemed to take no notice of the bite in Gabriel's voice. "There is no need," he said. "As you may have inferred, I find myself beyond such mortal libations." He steepled his own fingers in imitation of his host. Their bony paleness called to mind the ribcage of some dead creature, embedded in the ground. While Gabriel had not stopped glowering at him, he had not removed his own eyes from Beatrice.

 

"I think what my husband means, Monsieur, is that we are inquiring about the purpose of your visit," she said.

 

"As well as the identity of your personage," Gabriel added. "I have found myself distrustful of those who wear black, as of late."

 

"How rude of me," the stranger replied. His voice, however, did not suggest any remorse.

 

"I am the Ankou. First of the dead, shepherd of those who have passed on, collector of lost souls and protector of the graveyards of this parish. I have come to your house because a soul in my care has gone astray. I believe you know who I mean.

 

"I would like to assure you, I am no enemy of the living. I can see clearly what has happened here; a family, torn apart. A husband, desperate to bring his wife back to him. I have seen it before, men and women letting dark magicks consume them, trying to reclaim loved ones. All too often it ends in tragedy, even if things seem to turn out well." Here he finally turned his unblinking gaze on Gabriel. The designer's hands clenched.

 

"I do not appreciate being threatened in my own house, Ankou. I do not care for your insinuations about the magicks I researched, either. All I have done is used the resources available to me, to right a wrong that was done. As far as I can tell, __you__ are the greatest threat to this family now."

 

Nooroo had been hiding this whole time withing Gabriel's jacket pocket. The pink kwami was positively beaming, hearing his human speaking so passionately about his family. Finally, he just couldn't take it any more, and flew out to join in his bearer's argument.

 

"My duty is a sacred trust, and I-" the Ankou was saying, when a tiny pink blur flew up in his face.

 

"If you think kwami magic is dark and dangerous, M Ankou, I would shudder to imagine what sort of magicks you believe to be bright and helpful. My Gabe is a man of Law and Justice."

 

Duusu had to join in. The peacock kwami joined his partner, saying "There is not a whiff of the dark arts on Beatrice. And I think that I would know." He sniffed. "I think you just don't like that we stole her back from under your bony little nose."

 

"We?" Nooroo said, raising a brow. "Gabe did all the work. Finding suitable minions to brainwash isn't, eh hehe..." The butterfly kwami tapered off, feeling Gabriel's glare transferred to him. "Thatistosayhe'sreallyarathernicemanonceyougettoknowhim," he blurted, and flew to hide under Beatrice's hair.

 

Through this all, the Ankou's expression hadn't lifted from its dour set, but he __had_ _ blinked. Twice. He had not been expecting kwami. More commonly, stolen souls were guided back through occult ritual, and placed in the bodies of unwilling hosts. Even the most benign of these transfers could cause damage to the 'hosts' soul, often overwriting or completely ousting it. But with kwami involved...

 

"That body, then. It is truly your own?" the Ankou asked of Beatrice.

 

"Y-yes, Monsieur Ankou," she said. "But please, do not be angry at Gabriel. I will... go with you, quietly."

 

Four sets of eyes were riveted to her face, three aghast. Gabriel's protests overrode those of the two kwami only due to his greater size.

 

"Beatrice, no. You can't leave me again."

 

Tears began to fall from her eyes as she turned to her husband. "I cannot cause such trouble for you and Adrien, Mon Amour. I-"

 

"No!" he shouted, standing. "I have spent a year doing the impossible, all to get you back. I will not lose you again, not for anything. Not for anyone!"

 

The Ankou stood as well, leaving Mme Agreste the only one seated. "Know that I am not without compassion, Agrestes. I understand, truly I do." He took his hat off, pinching the wide brim in bony fingers. "But it is my job to hold the tally of souls, and so I must ask Mme to return with me."

 

By now, Gabriel was shaking with barely contained rage and fear. He looked to his kwami. Nooroo nodded back, eyes shining. "Wings Rise!"

 

The transformation was quick, and when it ended, Papillon strode from behind his desk, cane in hand.

 

"You are NOT taking my wife from me. Not again," he cried, brandishing his weapon at the Ankou.

 

"Monsieur Agreste, this is not-"

 

"LEAVE!" Papillon thundered. Butterflies swirled around him like a storm of pure white wings. With a fierce gesture, the insects swarmed the Ankou, pushing him towards the door. When they cleared, the figure was nowhere to be seen.

 

"Gabriel, you did not need to do that," Beatrice said, looking up at him. He was at her side in an instant.

 

"Nonsense. I couldn't _not_ do that. I should have been there a year ago, to stand between you and Death." He took her hands in his. "It may be the Ankou's duty to reclaim your soul- it is _mine_ to keep it from him." He looked into her eyes. "I have not been a proper father to Adrien, or a proper husband to you. That ends, today."

 

He was stopped from saying anything further by a rattling of the windows and creaking of the walls, as though a mighty wind had blown against the house, nevermind that the Agreste Mansion was solid masonry with brand-new glazing.

 

_**"I cannot leave this realm empty-handed. If Madame Agreste does not return with me, then another soul shall. From now until I leave, my touch will bring death."** _

 


	10. Chapter 10

Ladybug had swung up to the balcony, Adrien held to her side like the delicate maid in an Errol Flynn movie, and she _hadn't let go_. The model's heart was hammering in his chest. Part of it was trepidation about the stranger at the door, but part of it was because the most beautiful girl in Paris had her arm around his waist, and wasn't showing any signs that she was going to remove it.

 

"Tell me again which of these is the upper door to your room?" she asked.

 

"That one," he replied, pointing. "Third on the left." They approached, and he pulled himself away to open the door for her.

 

"Why thank you, Monsieur," Ladybug said with a little bow. This was just fun! She went in, reflecting on how different it was when she was in spots. Normally, she'd be stuttering and tripping all over her own feet, but not being herself let her just... enjoy Adrien's company. It was nice.

 

Adrien was having a little more trouble with the situation, though. He normally was fine dealing with Ladybug, but normally, she wasn't paying so much attention to him. And he was dressed as a cat. But now he was showing her into his room, way more aware of her skin-tight costume and the fact that his parents (both parents!) didn't know that they were alone in his room. And she was looking at him with a sort of smirking half-smile, and he realized he was staring.

 

"So, uh, this is my room," he said, scratching the back of his head. "Nothing special, you know?"

 

"I know," she replied. "I've been here before. And it definitely is something. Your room is larger than some people's entire apartments."

 

His arms dropped. "Yeah, I know."

 

She giggled, then reached forward and scooped him up in a bridal carry. Ignoring his surprised 'Waaagh!', she lightly hopped over the railing of his balcony and alighted on the ground floor. The teen model found himself flying through the air again as he was then tossed unceremoniously onto his bed. "What was that about?" he spluttered.

 

"Oh, just thought you might want to get a little more... comfortable," Ladybug said with a wink. He turned beet red, mouth hanging open. His knees found their way up to his chest as he forced his jaw closed, averting his eyes. She sidled up to the edge of the bed. "Oh don't worry. I wouldn't do anything you don't... ask me to."

 

"Grk!" Adrien fell over. He heard Ladybug's bell-like laughter and looked up. She was doubled over, hands hugging her stomach. As he watched, she lost her footing and fell, sitting on the floor. He had to sit up to keep her in view.

 

Ladybug wiped a tear from her mask. "Now I know why Chat Noir does this so much. It's fun!"

 

"Wha- I- Chat Noir doesn't go around terrorizing innocent teen models!" the innocent teenage model protested.

 

"I suppose we do have other cats to whip," came the riposte, sending Adrien into another deep blush. Plagg snickered in his pocket. Adrien quieted the kwami with a quick smack to his shirt. This discussion was quickly getting out of hand. He had to get her out of here.

 

"Ladybug, something spooky is going on. I'd really feel better if you'd go back out there and help protect my parents from... whoever that is."

 

"Your dad is Papillon. I think he can probably handle whatever it might be. I'd rather be right here, keeping an eye on you."

 

"Well, uh, okay then." The attention was flattering, really it was, but that didn't prevent the frustration of inactivity. Adrien hopped off his bed. He leaned down to offer the heroine a hand up, then wandered over to his movie cabinet. He'd go crazy if he didn't have something to distract him from this, this farce that he found himself in. "Movie?"

 

However Ladybug was going to respond (and it was probably going to be something along the lines of "Why Adrien, without taking me to dinner first?" if he had his guess), it was cut off. The windows rattled, and the house shook as if under a hurricane gust of wind, and the Ankou's grim message rang throughout the building.

 

The heroine of Paris didn't think twice. She leapt to a window, sparing one determined glance back at Adrien before undoing the latch and swinging out into the night.

 

"She is _definitely_ going to need backup," Adrien said. "Plagg, Claws Out!" With a flash of green, Chat Noir followed.

 

 

Outside, the wind blew and howled. Though the sky was covered with dark, heavy clouds, there was no rain. Chat Noir joined Ladybug on a roof. Remembering at the last second that Chat 'hadn't been there' at the Agreste mansion, the hero put on a big, goofy grin as he alighted on the tiles.

 

"Nice evening for a stroll, My Lady?"

 

She quieted him with a low hand. "There's some sort of dark spirit threatening Paris. I'm trying to spot him. Look for a black coach drawn by four horses," she said, still looking around.

 

"An Akuma?" Chat asked, though he knew the answer.

 

"No, something different. There!" The heroine leapt off the roof, yo-yo already zipping out. Chat followed, spotting the coach himself.

 

_Man, she wasn't kidding about it looking old_ , he thought to himself. The detail was hard to see, due to the whole thing being a flat black, but with his magically enhanced night vision, he could see the ornate carvings on the panels. The corners were covered in intricate metalwork, each made to look like a twisted spirit, arms outstretched and holding lamps which swung as the coach clattered down the street.

 

Ladybug was already swinging over the coach. Her trajectory suggested that she was attempting to land on it.

 

"Ankou, stop right there!" she called, impacting the flat roof of the vehicle. The horses at the front continued to canter forwards, not seeming to care about the red-clothed girl behind them.

 

"Yeah, what she said!" Chat added. He took the time to run ahead along a ridgeline, then jumped down to stand in the coach's path. He planted his staff in the street, top pointed at the horses. It'd be a shame if they got hurt, but then again, they were probably magical constructs of some sort, and this was definitely the fastest way to get a moving vehicle to stop.

 

Or it would be, if the vehicle in question didn't suddenly veer to the right and drive straight through a solid building, leaving nothing but a few wisps of black smoke and a very aggravated Ladybug knocked on her rear.

 

"Okay, that's just not fair," Chat quipped as he ran over to help her up.

 

"We need to catch him before he hurts anyone," she told him. He'd honestly never seen her so distracted.

 

"It'd be a lot easier if we knew where he was going. Any ideas?"

 

"No," she grumbled. "He was at the Agreste Mansion. As far as I can tell, he isn't actually going anywhere in particular. But we have to stop him." She turned to her partner. "He said he was going to kill someone, Chat."

 

Gone was the smile. It was Business Cat time. "Alright. Should we split up? Cover more ground?"

 

"If it is bodies on the ground you need, might I offer two more?"

 

Two figures- two _adult_ figures, came floating down on a wide fan-shaped kite. One, dangling like an eggplant from the other's legs, was in a sleek purple suit with a silver cowl. Clearly Papillon. Chat, of course, knew exactly who he was, but this was the first time his partner saw their longtime foe in-costume. The other figure was a woman with braided hair and a blue bodysuit fading to teal at the feet, with chevronne'd designes on the calves and shoulders. Her face was hidden under a dominoe mask, and she was hanging from the kite by her arms. Papillon dropped off his companion's legs, landing with poise on the sidewalk.

 

Chat immediately perked up. Some more help would definitely help, and Papillon's butterflies would be able to cover a lot more ground. But Ladybug hadn't had the same personal experience with the new, reformed Papillon. Her reaction was slightly more violent.

 

"Another Akuma? Trying to take advantage of the situation, then?" she cried, launching her weapon at him. But though the yo-yo sped towards his face with all the strength of a stressed-out mystically-empowered teenager behind it, his companion was faster.

 

Folding her kite- which was now revealed to actually be an enormous feather fan and not just a fan-shaped kite- she dropped in front of Papillon. The feathers of the fan flicked out and with a soft 'whpf', batted the yo-yo away.

 

"Whoah whoah whoah!" Chat Noir yelled, jumping between them. "Let's not bite their heads off, My Lady. They're not aphids." His partner was pleased to see that his back was to her instead of the newcomers. Chat, on the other hand, was desperately mouthing "Help me out here" to Papillon and the woman he could only assume was his mother, transformed with the help of Duusu. To Ladybug he said, "He offered help. We can at least hear him out. If this thing is as dangerous as you say, we can use all the help we can get."

 

Papillon stepped forwards, hands out in a placating gesture. "I had thought we were over this, Ladybug. Your partner is correct. Paonne here is my own partner, returned after... an extended absense."

 

Paonne, the woman, folded her fan with a snap, then set it in the small of her back, where the feathers hung down to her ankles like a waist cape, or the feather train of a peacock. She spoke, voice lilting but cool. "We don't have time for regrettable misunderstandings. Ladybug, Chat Noir, our quarry is the Ankou, the same as you. You can either help us apprehend him, or stay out of our way." She took a look around, and something strange happened with her eyes as they locked onto the wall where the Ankou's coach had passed. "The turn was sudden, in response to something you two had done?" she asked.

 

Ladybug nodded. Paonne's buisinesslike attitude had done a lot to diffuse the emotional reaction she'd had at Papillon's appearance. And it seemed like the new heroine knew what she was doing.

 

"He's still hunting," Paonne said. "I would have thought he'd just take the first person he came across, but apparently he's searching instead."

 

"So then, it's our job to make sure he keeps his hands to himself," Ladybug put in.

 

"We should get to the rooftops. The coach is heading North. We should head out in a fan, 15 degrees between our paths. You and I are most likely the fastest, so we'll take the outer edges."

 

"Alright, let's go!"

 

Ladybug threw her yo-yo, and Paonne took her fan, flaring it out. With a fling and a leap, respectively, the two women were soon onto the roofs, then out of sight.

 

Chat Noir stared after them for a second, then turned to Papillon, eyes wide. "What was that?" he yowled.

 

"Incredible, isn't she?" Papillon sighed, still looking up at the rooftops where Paonne had vanished. "I never really got to see her in action when she was actively patroling." Blue eyes met green, and a triumphal grin split the reformed villain's face. "Pay close attention to your Mother, boy. She'll be teaching both of us a thing or three before the night is through, I'm certain." Loosing a deep laugh, Papillon jumped into the air.

 

His leap wasn't as impressive as Paonne's, barely getting ten feet off the pavement, but then he apparently jumped again, on air. With a series of these small hops, he made his way to roof height and started running, his feet apparently treating thin air like solid ground.

 

Chat gaped, then shook his head. Tonight... tonight was just full of surprises. Unlimbering his baton, he used it to propel himself after his father.

 

This was going to take some getting used to, he thought to himself as he vaulted among the chimneys. Ladybug was off ahead and to the left, Paonne and Papillon to the right, so he took the slice between them.

 

It wasn't two minutes before Paon shouted, pointing down a street.

 

"Papillon, you're closest! There!"

 

The purple clad man ran forward on the air, dropping with each step until he was out of sight of most of the others.

 

"Ankou!" he shouted, running along in the air next to the coach. "Stop your search and leave now. Paris is _my_ city, and I will not have your shadow lurking over it anymore!"

 

The Ankou's voice rang out from everywhere and nowhere, much like it had at the Mansion. "And do you offer yourself up? Will you leave with me to the realms of the Dead?"

 

"I will not abandon my family!" Papillon replied.

 

"Then I will not stop."

 

Instead of responding, the former villain swung his cane towards one of the coach's wheels. Before the unbreakable shaft could tangle and crack the spokes, though, a hand reached out and snatched it. Papillon stopped and dropped to the ground in shock.

 

Keeping a grip on the cane, one of the carved figures that covered the corner of the vehicle split off as the coach continued down the street. Its mouth stretched wide, and an unearthly wail issued forth, sending shivers down Papillon's spine.

 

With a yank, he reclaimed control of his weapon. "If you are trying to intimidate me, you should try harder than cheap parlor tricks," he said with a sneer. "Have at thee, Wraith!"

 

Papillon struck with his cane, thrusting with the end at the wraith's midsection. Iron flowed like silk as the being dodged around it. It swung the lantern it still held at the villain's head, forcing him to duck and roll backwards. The wraith advanced, once again swinging its lantern, fire trailing behind it.

 

What followed was a flurry of blows and a flurry of misses. Neither combatant seemed capable of hitting the other, both dodging and rolling away from the other's strikes. Papillon could hear the sounds of combat from further ahead. He used some small respites to send out butterflies to let him know how his allies were doing; it seemed that as long as he wasn't trying to go towards the black coach, the wraith would leave him alone. Keeping an eye on his foe, Papillon cast his attention out to follow his emmisaries. He found each of them engaged with an enemy much like his own- the other three corner figures of the coach.

 

Ladybug and Chat Noir were tag-teaming a pair of the wraiths. True to form, their good and bad luck combination was making fools of their opponents, turning what would otherwise be supernaturally graceful monsters into bumbling Halloween rejects. Despite this, they were still being kept from advancing.

 

Paonne, as expected, was furthest from him and closest the coach. She moved with grace and precision, dancing past the wraith's attacks and deflecting its clumsy swings with her fan. She alone was making progress, moving such that each attack and deflection pushed her further North, and the wraith further to the side.

 

Papillon felt his heart swell with pride for his beautiful wife. Emboldened by her strength, he called his butterflies back and pulled his attention in.

 

"This has been a wonderful dance, Monsieur Wraith, but I am afraid I have business with your master," he said to his foe. His cane tapped against the street in rhythm with his shoes as he advanced, back straight, on the living (or undead) carving. "I was hoping to save this for the Ankou, but then, we don't always get what we wish." He stopped, still a few yards from the wraith, who merely looked on with infinite patience. All the easier for him, Papillon supposed.

 

"Much as your master avers himself a guide of lost spirits, so too does the Butterfly guide souls. However, I am no delicate insect on gossamer wings, to be brushed aside. No!" he acclaimed, taking his cane in both hands and slamming its tip to the street, "I am the hurricane winds, blowing you from my path!" As had happened earlier in the day, a swarm of pure white butterflies rose around Papillon, like a halo of fluttering wings. The crystal on the head of his cane began to glow. He held it by the shaft above his head. "Servant of the dark, cower before the light and begone! EXORCISM!"

 

A wave of light blasted from the cane's head in all directions. As the pulse reached the wraith's form, it pushed it back, disintegrating into etherial smoke. All around him, Papillon saw and felt spirits become purified and pushed into the beyond. Ghosts tied for centuries to their bones in the catacombs beneath were freed from their earthly prisons, and echoes of death and bloody revolution were wiped from the streets and houses surrounding him.

 

When it was finished, Papillon staggered. He felt... clean. Refreshed. Like he'd just put the finishing touches on his Fall lineup, and could hand the portfolios off to Nathalie to take into the office. He realized that this was the job of the Butterfly- to guide souls into the Light and erase earthly burdens. This was why Nooroo had been so against his role as a supervillain, had protested against the Akumas so strongly. This was a metamorphosis for le Papillion.

 

"CATACLYSM!"

 

Papillon looked up, seeing the telltale dust of crumbling masonry. He ran ahead to see what had required Chat Noir's final attack.

 

Apparently his son had decided to bring the wall of an entire building down on the two wraiths he and Ladybug had been fighting. His partner looked none too pleased about that.

 

"You didn't have to do that Chat. I would have been fine," she huffed. "Now I'm going to have to repair those people's apartments before the storm gets any worse."

 

"Purr-haps you should hold on to that ability, My Lady. We don't know if anythig else might get broken tonight." Ladybug rolled her eyes at the pun, but didn't cast the spell. "We will need to hurry this up, though." Chat's ring beeped, adding veritas to his words.

 

"I believe I know where the Ankou is going, but we must hurry," Paonne said, dropping down beside them. "Follow!" Wasting no time, she leapt back into the air and began gliding again to the North. The other three followed.

 

"His movements suggest that he is heading to the Hospital Brettoneau," she said, glancing back. "We have to get there bef- Oh no." Blue split the night as she stooped into a dive, almost falling towards her destination. Chat Noir followed, using a dangerous maneuver where he balanced on his baton as he extended it up 5 or 6 stories and fell forwards. Ladybug flung her yo-yo and rocketed off above the rooftops, leaving Papillon to jump after, bringing up the rear. The butterfly really wasn't a fast mover, he reflected.

 

He managed to reach the front doors of the hospital just in time to see Ladybug's spots flash inside. The coach was parked outside the doors, black horses champfing. He followed the young heroine inside, and was directed down a hallway by a flabberghasted night-nurse at his station. The villain could just make out his startled question as he went through a set of doors into the hospice wing.

 

"Wait, was that Papillon?"

 

The Supers of Paris met up outside room number 55, where Paonne stood, poised at the door.

 

"He's inside," she whispered. "With me." She wrenched open the door, and the group poured into the room.

 


	11. Chapter 11

The Ankou sat at the side of the hospital bed. Within lay an old, old man, shriveled and small, whose face lit up when he saw them.

 

"Oho, so many visitors today! How lucky am I? And if my old eyes don't decieve me, that looks like Ladybug and Chat Noir. So famous, Paris' young heroes." His hands trembled as he shook their hands, the teens smiling uneasily.

 

Papillon stepped forwards. "You are doing well, monsieur? This... gentleman isn't bothering you?" he asked, gesturing at the dark figure still sitting next to the man.

 

"Oh, this fella's explained everything to me," the man said. Despite his age and infirmity, his voice was strong. He stuck out a shaking hand to Papillon as well. "Charles Legrand. Pleased to make your aquaintance." Papillon took the offered hand, bemused. Everything seemed to have calmed down, but he was thankful that his wife was keeping a wary eye on the Ankou, just in case.

 

"What?!" Chat squawked. Ladybug let out a little gasp as well. "Then you know this guy- this guy is..."

 

"Death?" Charles gave a wheezy laugh. "Child, I've been waiting for the Reaper for ten years, now. I've outlived my friends, and whatever family I might have left have either forgotten about me or just decided to leave me to rot. I was beginning to wonder if I'd already died, and was just a ghost who didn't realize he'd passed on." He trailed off into wistfulness at the end, before laughing again as he looked over at the Ankou. "If I can do a little more good before I go, all the better."

 

Paonne looked ill. "Then you understand that you are taking the place of another?"

 

He nodded. "A man is lucky enough to get his wife back, and a son his mother? Well then, I am happy to help them..." This time, his laughs turned into dry coughs. All the Miraculous weilders leaned forwards, as though they could protect him from his own failing body. He waved them back. "Don't you worry about me, friends. I have had a long life, and mostly happy. It's time for me to give up the ghost, so they say."

 

The Ankou stood, drawing everyone's attention.

 

"It is time," he said.

 

Charles reached out to take the Ankou's offered hand. "Allons-y." Old fingers were cradled by undead, and then the Ankou vanished, and M Legrand's hand fell limp to the bedsheets, one final breath escaping his mouth. His eyes lost their shine, then closed for the final time. It was over.

 

* * *

 

The four of them filed out of the room. The silence was broken by Papillon's Miraculous beeping, and his transformation wearing off. With a flash of purple light, Gabriel Agreste stood in the hall, Nooroo lying flat on his head. The kwami burrowed into his hair, groaning. Gabriel reached a hand up to nudge his kwami gently with his fingertips.

 

"Thank you, Nooroo. You performed admirably there."

 

"You're welcome," was the tired response.

 

Chat Noir started when his own Miraculous beeped. "Uh oh. I'd better get going, then." He bowed quickly to Ladybug and Paonne, and gave a quick nod to Gabriel. "It's been an enlightening evening, everyone." With a quick salute, he hopped into a side hallway and out of sight.

 

"Would you care to meet us back at the house, Ladybug?" Gabriel asked. "I think that, after this night, none of us should be alone."

 

"But what about Chat?" she asked.

 

Paonne put a hand on the young heroine's shoulder. "Something tells me that Chat Noir will be alright. Please, Ladybug, I think it would be good for all of us to talk about what happened."

 

The three of them had paused in the foyer of the hospital. The night nurse was feverishly whispering on his cell phone, "It's Gabriel Agreste! No, I don't know why he's here, I didn't see him come in. I don't know, maybe he has a relative here or something. I'm not going to check the records, that's against confidentiality!"

 

Ladybug looked from Paonne to Gabriel. Her eyes dropped to the floor. They might have been tears in her eyes, but she blinked them away. "Alright," she said, voice almost a whisper. "I have something to do first, though. I'll meet you back there." She split off from them, jogging out the door and swinging away.

 

"Shall we?" Gabriel asked Paonne as they exited the hospital.

 

"One moment, dear," she replied. She popped back inside for a moment, then returned to her husband's side. "I let him know about Monsieur Legrand. Nothing incriminating, of course, but I feel that he should know when one of his charges dies."

 

"Always thinking of others," Gabriel said, affection in his voice.

 

"It is why you love me," she returned. She wrapped an arm around his waist, then leapt into the sky, pulling out her fan to begin gliding back to their home. Below, they could see a speck of red making its way to the pile of rubble that their son had made with his Cataclysm. "I do hope she and Adrien open up to each other soon," Paonne said. "They make an adorable couple."

 

"Perhaps," Gabriel said. He held on tight as they glided over the rooftops. "But then again, there _is_ this promising young designer in our boy's class that seems absolutely smitten with him. Since Adrien doesn't seem interested in inheriting the family business, perhaps she could be brought in instead."

 

Paonne laughed. "You don't fool me, you romantic you. They are probably just as adorable together as Adrien and Ladybug."

 

"You've caught me." He smirked, then gave her a peck on the cheek.

 

They reached the door of the mansion soon after, and Adrien let them in.

 

"You know how strange it is to be letting in superheroes by the front door?" he said as they all headed back into the parlor. "I'm used to coming and going via the windows, and I'm not sure father even ever _left_ while he was transformed. Think he just stood around in that room in the attic, monologuing about how eeevil he was being."

 

Gabriel's lips pursed, and his brow rose imperiously. "I was _not_ monologuing. I was giving instructions to my minions."

 

The family made their way to the parlor again, opening the door to find food for each of their kwamis. Plagg was already busy gorging himself on Camembert, and Nooroo perked up immediately when he smelled the glass of juice that Adrien had poured for him, which left the bowl of mixed berries for Duusu.

 

"Plagg told me what all the kwamis liked," Adrien said. He scratched the back of his head. "Or, well, in general what they liked. I hope Duusu enjoys strawberries and blueberries." The teen seemed to notice that his mother hadn't de-transformed yet. "Mom? Or, uh, Paonne? Aren't you going to power down?"

 

Paonne smiled at her son, ruffling his hair playfully. "In a moment. Ladybug is almost here, and I believe she has a right to know who the new Miraculous wielder is." Adrien sneezed.

 

"What? But, but, secret identities! Safety in anonymity! Don't you think if I could have just told Ladybug that I would've by now?" He sneezed again. Her son seemed amazed that it might be that simple, so much so that he didn't seem aware of his allergies acting up.

 

His mother noticed, and pulled away, happy when it seemed that was enough to clear his nose. The heroine smiled. "I hope you both learn as I have, Adrien. Though trust is hard to give, it is often worth the effort. And the truth is always more beneficial than lies, no matter how well intentioned they may be."

 

Adrien considered this. "I guess. But I still don't think she's ready to share, and I'm not going to be the one to force the issue."

 

Plagg chimed in from his throne of cheese boxes. "I'm with the kid here. The secrets are still for the best." He burped. "Besides, it's just way too much fun seeing the two of them dance around like they are."

 

The doorbell rang, interrupting the conversation.

 

"Plagg!" Adrien said, holding open his shirt. The kwami vanished into its inner pockets, and Adrien quickly gathered up the empty cheese containers and dumped them in the trash.

 

"I'll go receive our guest," Gabriel said.

 

 

When he admitted Ladybug, her earrings were already missing a spot.

 

"Are you sure you have the time?" her former foe asked, walking her through the grand hall.

 

"I'll be okay," she reassured him. He considered her for a moment, thinking about what his wife had just said to his son, and wondered. But he put it out of his mind. It was not his place to pry. He showed the girl into the parlor.

 

Inside, Paonne and Adrien turned to greet them.

 

"I guess I shouldn't ask," Ladybug started, "but... why _did_ Paonne come back here with you? And where is Mme Agreste?"

 

"I think it will be easier to show you, Ladybug," Paonne said. She turned to face the younger heroine, and said "Fan Down."

 

With a flash of royal blue, Duusu reappeared from the peacock brooch, twirling around to show off his plumage, and Beatrice Agreste stood in place of the heroine Paonne.

 

Though her manners had told her to look away, Ladybug found she couldn't take her eyes off the transformation. Suddenly, she wondered why she hadn't seen it before. The body shape, height, hair and eyes; it was like a veil had been lifted in her mind, letting her make connections she'd not considered before.

 

"Oh!" she squeaked.

 

"Yes, oh." Beatrice smiled down at the girl, patting her head. "It is part of the magic of the Miraculous that keeps us hidden if we so desire." She gestured to her kwami, floating patiently nearby. "Ladybug, may I introduce you to Duusu. Duusu, Ladybug." The young heroine held her hand out on instinct.

 

"A pleasure, Madammoiselle." The kwami flew down to take her hand and gave it a light peck on the back.

 

"Pleasure's all mine," Ladybug replied, almost on automatic. She looked between Gabriel and Beatrice. "So you're both- you two..." Blue eyes glanced accusingly at Adrien. "Did you know about this?" she asked.

 

"Not an inkling," he said. "I knew less about this than you, before you told me Father was Papillon the other day." Technically true.

 

Beatrice came forward and guided Ladybug to a chair, where the girl sat down heavily. All of the Agrestes sat as well. "We hope you will be able to consider our home a safe place, a refuge if you ever need someplace to go in the course of your duties," Beatrice said.

 

Gabriel looked up sharply. "What?!" he cried, alarmed.

 

"Hush, Gabriel. It only makes sense. We are older Miraculous weilders, with more resources than a young girl has. She could do with some adult support in this part of her life."

 

"Oh, I think it would be wonderful to have another Miraculous around!" Nooroo trilled.

 

"It would go far to helping her re-categorize you as an ally," Duusu added.

 

"Well, I suppose," the 'Man of the House' grumbled. Adrien just got a bit of a glazed look on his face at the thought of Ladybug spending more time at his house.

 

There was a beep, and Ladybug realized her transformation was down to only a minute left.

 

"I suppose that means you're going to go, then?" Adrien asked, gesturing at her earrings. There was only one dot left, and he knew from experience that that last minute went by faster than expected.

 

"It's okay. I really want to talk about all... this," Ladybug said. "And I think Tikki would like to be reunited with both of you as well," she added,looking at the kwami.

 

"But... you..." the teen model sputtered. "Okay. Okay then." He sat back. Apparently today was the day he found out who his Lady was under the mask. Maybe his mother was right. Maybe he _should_ tell her his own secret.

 

The four of them sat in companionable silence for a moment, waiting. Then the final beep rang out. Adrien and Gabriel leaned forwards in their chairs, eager to see, while Beatrice just sat back with a small smile.

 

Light flashed red from the young heroine, and when it faded, it revealed...

 

Ladybug, sitting in a chair, with a kwami perched on her knee.

 

Adrien fell out of his chair. Gabriel closed his eyes, slapped his hands over his face and groaned. Beatrice started laughing.

 

"That's just not fair!" Adrien said from his position on the floor.

 

"Wha-what do you mean!?" Ladybug protested. "You _knew_ I had a backup costume! I was wearing it earlier today when you saw me!"

 

"Duusu, Nooroo!" Tikki cried, launching herself across the room to tackle her brothers in a hug. The three immediately started talking in their own, ancient language, drifting over to the table.

 

Gabriel pulled his hands down his face. "Wearing a costume even before you transform. Why did I never think of that possibility?" he muttered. Louder, he said to his wife, "That laughter isn't helping anyone. And it's really not that funny, in any case." This just prompted her to laugh harder.

 

Adrien, meanwhile, had let himself flop onto his back, and, covering his own face, was just chanting "it's not fair it's not fair it's not fair," over and over, not noticing how Marribug's face was turning redder and redder with each repeat.

 

"A-adrien!" she forced out, fists held hard in her lap.

 

In short, for the next minute, the whole parlor was in bedlam.

 

Eventually, things calmed down and Gabriel, with the help of Duusu and Tikki, managed to get control of the situation.

 

Tikki's stomach growled, and she dropped sheepishly to Marinette's bespotted lap.

 

"Hm. How rude of us, not offering you refreshments," Gabriel said. "What is your preferred food, Tikki? And can I get you anything as well, Ladybug?" he asked.

 

"Cookies, for both of us," came the reply.

 

"I'll be right back." He adjourned to the kitchen, and quickly returned with a box that said "Dupont-Cheng Bakery" on the lid. He opened it to reveal that it was filled with macarons and other sweets.

 

"Fresh, from a local bakery down the street," he said, putting the box on the low table in front of her. "Their daughter is a classmate of Adrien's, and I daresay they make the best cookies in Paris."

 

"D-do they, now?" Marinette managed to get out. She was seriously starting to question the wisdom of staying, costume or no costume. Tikki had no such reservations, and quickly scarfed a cookie, then picked out a second.

 

"Ooh, chocolate chip!" she squeaked, tossing one up to Marinette, who fumbled it for a second before she got a good grip on it. If the others noticed her un-Ladybug-like lack of coordination, they were too polite to mention it.

 

"I think," Beatrice said, picking a cookie for herself, "It is time we got down to it."

 

"It?" Adrien asked his mother.

 

"Yes, it," she returned. "The thing that superheros in the comic books always should do, but never seem to get around to doing. Full introductions all around, with an explaination of each of our powers and abilities. I will begin."

 

"I am Beatrice Agreste. This is my kwami, Duusu, the Peacock: Kwami of Intellect. When I am transformed, I go by the name Paonne. The Peacock grants me increased focus, awareness and intelligence, as well as the ability to lighten myself enough to leap high into the air, where I can glide down with my weapon, the fan of feathers.

 

"The fan, like all our weapons, is indestructible, but though it can be made wider or narrower, it cannot be stored away like the Butterfly's cane, the Ladybug's yo-yo, or the Cat's baton, and so I store it on my back, where it adds extra protection to my legs. Though it can act as a workable shield, the fan's true strength is in redirecting attacks instead of stopping them outright. The entire fighting style of the Peacock is to avoid serious blows, until an opening shows itself for a single decisive blow. I will let Duusu explain the rest of the powers."

 

Duusu flew up, taking care to remain far enough from Adrien while still being the center of attention.

 

"As Beatrice has said, I am the Kwami of Intellect. Along with the passive powers of intelligence and awareness that I grant my holders, they are also capable of seeing through and revealing illusions, and may use the ability called Gust, which blows away all obstacles to knowledge. This dispells all illusions, reveals many secrets, and will also push away many physical barriers, in a less metaphorical way of thinking about 'obstacles'." He spun a little in the air. "I am also, as you can see, the most beautiful of kwamis."

 

A small round of polite applause followed this, before Gabriel cleared his throat. "I suppose I should go next." He stood.

 

"I am Gabriel Agreste, weilder of the Kwami of Passion, Nooroo the Butterfly. Through him and his swarm I can guide the emotions of those around me, granting them power to achieve their grandest ambitions!

 

"I can cast my awareness out through the white butterflies I summon, sensing the emotions of those near. With that information I can concentrate my energy into a single specimen, imbuing a person of my choice with incredible abilities. This focus on others, however, leaves me personally weak. My cane is merely a cane, and the only other abilities my transformed state grants me is the ability to walk on air- an admittedly useful power, but not one suited for direct confrontations. For that, I should generally rely on my Champions." He swept his hand, passing the stage to Nooroo. The butterfly kwami swept up with a flourish.

 

"I am Nooroo, Kwami of Passion and Guide of Souls. Though my weilders _can_ use me merely for their own gain, I also have a deeper purpose. Much like the Ankou that we fought earlier today, the Butterfly is a chaperon of lost spirits. I am the kwami who deals most with the afterlife, and my weilder is capable of interacting with the spirits of the dead- at least he would be, when he's not busy playing supervillain." Gabriel scowled at his kwami, who simply continued.

 

"My ultimate spell is Exorsism, a spherical blast of purified spiritual energy that calms rogue spirits and encourages them on their way to the next realm. It can also break curses, and wash away the taint of dark magic. A spell I wasn't entirely certain Gabe even remembered from when I first told him, as he's never bothered using it until today."

 

" _Thank you_ , Nooroo," 'Gabe' said through clenched teeth. He snatched the kwami from the air, only for the Butterfly to slip through his hand and alight on his head. He sighed and sat back down.

 

Adrien got up next.

 

"Hi, I'm Adrien Agreste. Teenage model, hearthrob of Paris, face of my father's fashion empire. My only special abilities are a knack for physics equations and the ability to look fabulous in anything."

 

This drew a chuckle from his mother, a stern look from his father, and a set of dreamy fangirl eyes from Marinette, who quickly hid them when she realized it was her turn. She cleared her throat and stood so suddenly that it pushed her chair backwards.

 

"Oh, uh, I'm Ladybug, I'd rather not say my real name right now I hope you understand... My partner is Tikki, the Lucky Ladybug Kwami. She gives me good luck and enhanced physical abilities, like strength and agility, as well as good instincts about what to do in any sitiuation.

 

"My yo-yo does all sorts of stuff; it lets me grapple around, can grab stuff out of the air... It's handy as a projectile that I can throw and re-use, or I can whap baddies with it," she said, doing a little karate pose. "If I spin it, it makes a sort of shield that can deflect or disinterate stuff that hits it. I once used it to cut a hole in a bus that was thrown at me, that was pretty cool." She twidled her thumbs a little, then pointed to Tikki. "She can tell you the rest!" Maribug went to sit down, but missed the pushed-back chair, instead landing on her rump on the floor. She scrambled back into the chair, dragging it back into place and looking mortified.

 

Tikki floated up to give her part. "I'm Tikki, Ladybug of Luck and Creation. My powers are very flexible, because it's possible to 'create' almost anything- cures for dark magic, good situations, protection or enhancement, but I'm not as good at those as more dedicated kwami. But when my user focuses my magic, she can use the Lucky Charm spell to create exactly the item she needs at that moment. That, and my Miraculous Ladybug spell, which repairs everything damaged by my fights.

 

"I suppose it doesn't fix everything, though," Marinette said. She looked down at her hands in her lap, focusing on one of the spots on her gloves. "Monsieur Legrand..."

 

"Oh, M-Ladybug, it's okay," Tikki said, flying over to give her friend a tiny hug.

 

"Tikki is right, Ladybug," Beatrice agreed. The woman moved to the seat next to the girl and put an arm on her shoulders. "You may feel like you can do anything, but some things are just meant to be. In this case, it was M Legrand's time to go. He was lucky, too. He got to choose his passing." The blonde chucked the brunette's chin. "Maybe some of that luck was your doing, even." This got a smile from Marinette.

 

Adrien, watching this all closely, threw up his arms. "Okay, that's enough of this depressing soul-searching stuff. Could we get back to the bigger issue?" Ladybug looked at him, appalled at his apparent callousness, until she remembered that he hadn't been there. The model continued. "My father is apparently a _Supervillain_ , who's been terrorizing Paris for a _year_."

 

Ladybug's gaze transferred to the designer. "You know, he's right. You helped us tonight, but that was for pretty selfish reasons. How do we know you won't just go back to your old ways now that you know more about the Ladybug Miraculous?"

 

Gabriel threw up his arms as well. "For one, do you forget that you are sitting next to the entire reason I wanted your Miraculous in the first place?" He pointed his finger at Tikki. "All of this would have been avoided had you just handed yourself over at the start."

 

"That still doens't excuse you brainwashing people into summoning dark portals and taking away free will," Adrien shot back.

 

"Hey, leave Tikki out of this!" Marinette said, holding her kwami to her chest.

 

Gabriel looked askance at his wife.

 

She held up her hand. "You brought this on yourself, from what I have heard. Brainwashing and making monsters _does_ sound pretty evil to I as well, Mon Amour."

 

"I will have you know that I gave every one of those people exactly what they wanted, sometimes even to my own detriment. Or are you forgetting Darkblade and Jackady?"

 

"And," he continued, "Do you know how hard it was to find people who were upset enough over something petty and small, or with pure enough motives that they would make non-dangerous Akuma? I could easily have chosen a mugger or angry butcher, and then where would you be?" Gabriel crossed his arms petulantly and turned away from them. "Probably baked into pies or something."

 

"Chloe was almost made into soup, does that count?" Adrien chirped, grinning.

 

"Okay," Gabriel admitted. "Kung Food was not what I was expecting from a jilted chef."

 

"And The Pharaoh nearly sacrificed an innocent teen to Dark Gods," Ladybug added.

 

Gabriel deflated a bit more. "So I make mistakes. I'm only human."

 

"Except when you are channeling a small aspect of existance, hmm Papillon?" said Beatrice, grinning along with Nooroo, who was hanging down over Gabriel's forehead to look at him upside-down.

 

"Hrmph!" was his only answer. But the designer did crack a small smile. "I suppose now you won't have to worry about flocks of constapated pidgeons dive-bombing you, anymore," he quipped.

 

"Ugh! Please don't remind me of Mr. Pidgeon!" Ladybug said, rolling her eyes up. "He was _the_ most ridiculous villain, and yet somehow he was also one of the ones that came closest to winning!"

 

"On the bright side, my classmate's pidgeon hat won the fashion contest," Adrien added.

 

Beatrice leaned forwards. "Now this is a story I would like to hear," she said.

 

Marinette stood up. "I wish I could, but Tikki and I really need to be going. It's getting very late."

 

All the Agrestes stood, and went with her to the front door. After a round of goodnights, Gabriel spoke. "What my wife said stands, Ladybug. This house is now a safe space for you. If you ever need someone to go to, feel free to come here." He smiled down at her. "I promise I won't attack."

 

She smiled back. "Thank you." She looked between them, and then at Adrien. "Thank you all for making me feel so welcome. I'll be sure to keep that in mind." With a quick "Spots on!", she had transformed, and swung away into the night.

 

"You know," Gabriel mused, "There's something familiar about that girl, now that I think of it."

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> First, some thanks to Jessdoodlesthings and not-alya on Tumblr for the inspirations of Paonne's costume, and Marinette wearing hers under the Ladybug transformation (if, indeed, you two are the ones who originated those ideas in those locations- my Pinterest-fu is not the best. If anyone knows differently, let me know- I'd like to attribute thanks where it's due).
> 
> Second, a big thanks to my friend (you know who you are, if you ever read this) who did the preliminary beta-reading of the story, and convinced me to add what was essentially a whole extra chapter near the beginning, when I'd thought I'd already finished the whole thing. It really was worth it.
> 
> And finally, thanks to all who read this, and to those producing Miraculous Ladybug, putting the time, effort, and budget into what many would consider 'just a kid's show', to make it the phenomenon that it has become.


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